


Polarizing Ideals

by Zerodyne



Series: Tokudori: Super Sentai [2]
Category: BanG Dream! (Anime), BanG Dream! Girl's Band Party! (Video Game), Super Sentai Series
Genre: Action, Drama, F/F, Gen, Mystery, Slow Build, Super Sentai AU, basically the afterglow vs roselia event cranked up to 11, some polyglow and polyselia content, the shippy stuff won't appear until a few chapters, very self-indulgent
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-22
Updated: 2020-09-20
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:33:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 33,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25449919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zerodyne/pseuds/Zerodyne
Summary: — Alternate Title:Sora Sentai Glowranger vs. Tochi Sentai Roseranger.Two girl bands gained powers to face an adversity to humanity... but their polarizing ideals created a conflict between themselves. Could they set their differences aside to face their common threat?( A spiritual sequel ofHoshi Sentai Poppinrangerset in a different universe. Can be read as a standalone. )
Relationships: Aoba Moca/Imai Lisa, Hazawa Tsugumi/Hikawa Sayo, Minato Yukina/Mitake Ran, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Series: Tokudori: Super Sentai [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1821700
Comments: 7
Kudos: 34





	1. The Red Watcher of The Skies

**Author's Note:**

> Just like my previous fic, you can also read this without any prior knowledge of Super Sentai because I'm only borrowing the general idea of the series. 
> 
> Also, as mentioned, this takes place on a different universe than my previous fic, so you may read this as a standalone. For those who have read it... expect much less episodic format and faithfulness to Sentai, and more character focus.
> 
> And... that's it. Happy reading! Feedbacks are always appreciated.

As the night settled, Mitake Ran made her way through the entrance of dub Livehouse. It was already bustling by the time she got there, but she managed to slither through the crowd. Her eyes turned left and right, trying to find her group of friends amidst this sea of people.

“Ran! Raaaan! Over here!”

At once, Ran turned to where the calls came from. There they were— her Afterglow bandmates, the four people she had been calling friends since she was little. Curving a tiny smile, Ran moved towards them.

“Sorry, had a few things to sort back home,” she uttered.

“No problem, Ran-chan!” chirped Tsugumi, as cheerful as always. “Something to do with flower school?”

“Yeah. Something like that.”

Moca curled a teasing sneer. “Obviously, that won't stop Ran from watching Roselia perform~”

“Sh—shut up.”

What Moca said immediately reverted her to her bashful attitude. It's not wrong, though— seeing and hearing Roselia performing on stage is something she would fight tooth and nail for. Even though she hates to admit it, Ran is a massive fan of their music… especially the vocalist.

“Oh, hey! The gate is open already!” Tomoe alerted them, pointing towards the gateway to the venue. “Come on, let's get in!”

The five walked into the venue and joined the crowd. Ran threw a glance towards the stage, illuminated in a soft blue light. There were only operators by the time they entered, but they stepped off after a while. In their place…

“Look! There they are!” Himari shouted as a chorus of cheers erupted from the audience. Roselia stepped into the stage, each standing on their positions and preparing their instruments. Ran's eyes were mostly focused on the vocalist— the silver-haired girl took hold of her microphone and cooly observed her showgoers.

The blue lights slowly dimmed, the crowd simmering down to silence. Ran held her breath, waiting for those words to come.

“We are Roselia.”

Yukina's voice rang clear through the venue, as collected as usual. 

“Tonight, we're going to present to you the heights of our sound. Starting with… _'R'_.”

The guitar riffs began to play, and Yukina started to sing. It was an intense performance through and through, the crowd getting into it from beginning to end. Ran could feel the refined power within Roselia's sound— something that the band is always prideful of. Yukina's vocals were as breathtaking as always too… everything about this performance was great, as expected from them. 

Ran briefly glanced towards her friends. They seem to be enjoying the show as well, getting into the music and performance. Tomoe occasionally shouted and cheered for Ako, especially in the drum solos. 

Twenty five minutes passed, and the performance had almost reached its conclusion. Ran didn't even realize it had been that long… perhaps she enjoyed the show a bit too much.

“We would like to thank you for your unending support,” said Yukina. Her voice brought another silence to the crowd, who were just cheering over their last song.

"This will be our last song of the night, as our sign of gratitude to you. _'Our Pa_ —"

An explosion can be heard banging from outside, interrupting Yukina's words. Everyone promptly turned towards their back, glancing at the exit doors.

Then… another explosion occurred, this time bursting through the walls and breaking into the venue. It was followed with an uproar of panic as the crowd scrambled for their safety. Ran turned towards her bandmates, her fear mirrored in their faces. What on Earth…?

As the dust and debris subsided, Ran could see the outline of a towering figure, its appearance obscured by the venue's darkness. This figure slowly made its way towards the stage, each step it took causing a thunderous thump. Glancing to the stage, Ran noticed that Roselia had already made their escape through the backstage… but the creature shows no signs of stopping.

“Ran! We need to get out of here!”

Tomoe's words woke her senses up. She turned back towards her bandmates and the five ran off outside, not looking back even once.

Once they're a good mile away from the Livehouse, they finally stopped.

“What… what the hell was that?!” shouted Ran through strained breaths.

“It looked like… a monster, or something…” Tsugumi muttered, still thoroughly shaken by what just happened. Ran couldn't blame her— that was far from the ordinary. She was about to comfort her, when…

“Moca, get outta my way!”

Her face fuming with anger, Tomoe tried to push Moca off from her.

“You can't go back in there!” Moca hissed back, her voice carrying an urgency rarely ever seen from her. Tomoe, however, refused to listen.

“Ako's still in there! I can't just leave her!!”

“Ako's fine!” said Ran, cutting across the two. “At least… I hope so. I saw her escape with the rest of Roselia.”

Tomoe removed Moca's grasp on her, turning towards Ran with a stern expression. “Are you sure? You _really_ saw her?”

Unshaken, Ran nodded at her. 

“But we still don't know if they're safe or not…” Himari whimpered, her gaze fell to the ground.

“...we can only hope,” uttered Ran.

Silence followed those words, as the girls tried to wrap their heads around what just happened. Ran completely didn't expect the night to turn out like this… maybe all of this was a wild dream? No, that can't be it.

“Huh…? Look, what's that?”

Tsugumi's words broke the silence, as the girls turned to where she was pointing— the Livehouse.

The strange creature from earlier flew out from the building and fell to the ground. With a much clearer view, Ran could make out its features. It appeared to be human, but with metallic silver skin, a taller than average physique and a head akin to a shark.

“That's… the monster…?!”

“Wait, who's that?”

Another figure emerged from the building— this time, their appearance resembled a regular human. However, they are wearing a rather peculiar outfit… a skin-tight purple bodysuit with black accents, underneath a black chestplate with silver outlines and a large purple jewel located at the left side. That person is also wearing a purple full-face helmet with an opaque black visor, sleek and rectangular in shape.

The person in purple held a silver sword on their right hand, approaching the metal monster.

“They're… fighting?”

The monster got up to its feet and roared, charging towards the mysterious figure. The two fought at once, metal clashing with metal. The person in purple seems to be gaining an edge, as they managed to knock down the monster yet again.

As Ran watched the fight occur, she noticed something else. Someone. Moving between the trees not far from where they are. Ran turned away from the battle and squinted towards that figure… and saw a woman, wearing a black and white dress, akin to a maid outfit. The woman seemed to know that Ran had noticed her presence, because she stared back at her with a smile.

Then, with a flash of light, she disappeared.

“Wait— what the hell?” Ran muttered, running off towards where that woman was and alerting her bandmates.

“Hey, Ran! Where are you going?!” shouted Himari, but Ran didn't listen. She arrived right at where that woman stood, spotting a briefcase on the ground. She wasted no time in opening it— it was not locked, revealing something inside.

“What is this…?”

An object resembling a wristwatch was rested within the briefcase. It was unlike anything she had ever seen before… it was painted red, with shiny gold accents on the sides. Despite being shaped like a watch, the display didn't show time at all. It was translucent, revealing a small glowing red orb within the watch's face.

Curiously, Ran touched the watch-shaped object, and…

“...ngh—!”

Flashes of images started emerging in front of her eyes, from things and events she had never experienced before. There was an image of her fighting against four people in black armors, an image of her wielding a burning sword, an image of her running amidst a ruined town… despite never experiencing any of them, they somehow felt familiar.

“What was that…?” breathed Ran. She pulled her hand away from the wristwatch, when…

“AAAAAAAH!”

That scream sent chills down Ran's spine, because she knew exactly who it came from. She looked up, and her fears were immediately realized.

“Himari?!”

Not just her, the rest of her friends are now surrounded by a pack of creatures. They're different from the ones that purple suit person fought— they're still humanoid, but their bodies are hunched over and their arms are longer than natural, with sharp claws as fingers. They had red gleaming eyes and a solid black skin, obscuring any other features they had. The black creatures cornered the four girls where they stood, slowly making their approach with claws aloft.

As Ran was about to dash to her friends' aid, the watch-like object suddenly gleamed a bright red. It ascended from the briefcase and flew into Ran's right wrist, wrapping around it in an instant.

“What the—”

Those flashes appeared before her eyes again, more vivid than before. It was as if the wristwatch granted her memories and knowledge of things she never knew before… including the power to save her friends.

“So I have to fight…?” Ran muttered, glancing towards the watch. “Fine, give that power to me now!”

As if she had done this a dozen times before, Ran stretched her right arm forward. Her left hand then tapped the center of the watch, and the orb within emitted a bright red light.

“ **Sky Change**!”

Ran spun the outer ring of the watch. The light radiating from the orb began to spread. It engulfed her watch, then her hand, then her whole body. As she felt the power coursing through her, the light around Ran's body dispersed. Before she knew it, she was inside a new outfit— a red skin-tight suit with gold accents on her ankles, under a white vest with gold outlines and a sun-shaped emblem sewn on the left side. She also wore a red helmet with a chevron-shaped black visor outlined with gold color.

Not wasting any time at all, Ran dashed into the monsters, standing between them and her friends.

“Get out of here!” she ordered them.

“R—Ran-chan…?!” Tsugumi gasped. Her friends hesitated for a moment, shocked to see Ran wearing this outfit.

“Don't make me repeat myself!” Ran fiercely insisted. “Go! I can handle them!”

“But Ran—” 

“Just go!!”

Albeit still reeling from their shock, her friends fumbled to their feet and escaped, leaving Ran behind with the monsters. As they made their approach, Ran spun the outer ring of her wristwatch again.

“Feel my burning spirit! **Sunlight Saber**!”

On her command, a katana appeared from thin air to her palms. It had a red blade and a golden hilt, its gleam making the monsters flinch.

“Whoa…” 

Ran wasn't even sure what she just did— it really felt like someone was momentarily possessing her to do all of this. Yet, she felt totally in control. Again, the wristwatch seemed to be feeding her the knowledge… 

“As long as it allows me to protect my friends, I guess it doesn't matter…” she muttered, before raising her blade towards the monsters. “Come, then!”

One monster jumped at her with claws brandished. With a single stroke, Ran sliced it down in half. The monster remains turned into ash, falling to the ground as Ran made her next move. She swooped in and thrusted her sword onto one of the monster's abdomen, twisting her blade and cutting down another. 

Three of them remained, surrounding Ran from different sides. Ran drew her sword close, waiting for them to strike first. The monster on her back did, charging at her with full speed. Spinning around, Ran slashed the monster down with ease. The two remaining monsters pounced her at the same time, but Ran was too fast for them. She cleaved them with a single slash, turning them to ash.

With the last of the monsters defeated, Ran's body emitted a red glow again, and the outfit she wore disappeared. She straightened her body and exhaled a long sigh, glancing towards the red watch on her wrist. This thing… what exactly is this, and how did it give her these powers?

“Ran!”

Turning away from her watch, Ran spotted her friends running towards her. She didn't like the look they gave her— questions she may not have the answer to brimming from their eyes.

“What was that?!” Tomoe asked, a lot more enthusiastic than the rest. “I mean, how did you transform into something like that?!”

“...with this,” replied Ran, lifting her hand up to show the watch. The others stared at it, mesmerized.

“I found it right there,” Ran went on, pointing towards the briefcase left on the ground. “A woman left it there… and I feel like she was telling me to use it.”

“A woman?” repeated Himari. Ran just shrugged— she didn't know anything more than that.

“Maybe that woman left a message for you in that briefcase…?” Moca suggested.

“Oh, could be,” said Tomoe, folding her arms. “Why don't we take a look at it? Might have something that'll at least help us figure one thing out tonight.”

The others agreed. With all the crazy things that happened, it would be great to have some form of closure.

As they walked towards the briefcase, Ran glanced towards dub Livehouse. There seemed to be no one there… not even the monster, or the purple person from before.

“Where did the monster go?” she asked.

“It went off with the guy in the purple suit… maybe they're still fighting,” Tsugumi answered, before turning to Ran with a curious look. “Maybe… that guy has the same watch as Ran?”

“Maybe,” replied Ran, massaging her temple. “Gah, we don't even know if that is a guy. What is going on, really?”

Nobody answered. They can't even wrack their heads to accept what just happened as reality, not with how absurd everything went. Monsters, powers from a wristwatch… all of this felt too much for their brains to comprehend. Ran had it worse than the rest— the flashes and images on her mind, then the extraordinary things she did when wearing that red suit, none of it made sense to her, even though she experienced it firsthand. That's how strange it was.

The five finally arrived on where the briefcase was, still open after Ran received the wristwatch from it. Ran picked the briefcase up and showed it to her friends, who began taking a look at it.

“Huh? This is…”

Tsugumi picked something up right at the corner of the case— a sheet of paper. “Something's written on it!”

“What is it?” asked Tomoe. Tsugumi began reading it aloud.

> _To: Mitake Ran._
> 
> _This will be the first step towards your mission to protect those you held dear._
> 
> _If you and your friends wish to save this world from ruin, I request your presence._
> 
> _Your Skywatch will alert you about when and where you need to appear._
> 
> _— Someone who wishes to help you._

Silence followed, as the five stared at each other with unbridled uncertainty. That letter only added to their confusion.

“S—save the world…? What does that mean?” Himari mumbled nervously. “The world… the world can't be in danger… right?”

“We don't know for sure…” muttered Tomoe, restlessly rubbing her nape. “But we might get some answers out of it. What do you think, Ran?”

“Yeah, I agree,” said Ran. “Especially with how she knew my name… I obviously can't let that slide.”

“So… you're gonna go and see her?” asked Moca.

“Not just her, obviously! We're coming with you too!” Tomoe insisted. “That is, if you actually want to see her...”

Ran sighed. She didn't want to bring her friends through all of this, but the letter did say it needed to be her and her friends' decision. 

“Of course I do... I'll tell you all when this watch warns me. For now, let's go home.” 

The others nodded. They certainly needed a rest from everything that has happened so far.

Ran glanced at her red watch again, the orb inside emitting no light.

“So this is called a **Skywatch** , huh…”

Maybe when the time comes, the orb will light up? Who knows. For now… she needed some rest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The suit reference is from Gosei Sentai Dairanger!


	2. The Power to Make a Difference

It was still difficult for Ran to accept what happened last night as reality. For all she knew, that might be nothing more than a fever dream. Yet, when she woke up this morning, the so-called Skywatch was still in her possession. The object that granted her powers and transformed her into a red warrior, given to her by a mysterious woman she had never seen before. 

Just recounting all of that made her head spin… this is too much.

“So last night actually happened, huh…?”

“Yeah… I still can't believe it either.”

On their way to school, Ran and Tomoe walked together while discussing the events that transpired.

“Did your… erm, what's it called?”

“Skywatch.”

“Skywatch, yeah! Did it show any messages or anything?” asked Tomoe. That was one major certainty among the sea of doubts— the woman promised to elaborate further on this, and will alert Ran from her watch on when and where to meet up.

Ran shook her head, letting out a sigh. “Not even a blink. I actually tried to transform again when I was home… but nothing happened.”

Tomoe's eyebrows lifted, rather surprised by this fact. “Really?”

“Yeah. Maybe it only works when there's danger, or something…”

“Hm…”

Pursing her lips and pressing her chin, Tomoe seemed to be lost in thought. 

“Well, I guess there's nothing we can do but wait!” she finally uttered, giving Ran a grin and a light pat on the shoulder. 

Ran laughed it off. At least… her friends remained the same as always.

“Oh, right. How is Ako?” she asked afterwards. “Is she safe?”

“She got home before me… she's a bit shaken, but unharmed,” Tomoe replied, scratching her cheek. “She said the rest of Roselia is fine too, but...”

Ran raised an eyebrow, catching the unrest from Tomoe's face. “But… what?”

Tomoe groaned. “I don't want to be paranoid, but… I think she's hiding something from me.”

“Huh? Why?”

“I dunno,” Tomoe shrugged. “I might be imagining things, but it really felt like she wasn't telling me her full story…”

“That's… weird. Usually she'd confide in you without hesitation.”

“I know, right?! Maaan… if something was bothering her, I wonder why she didn't tell me.”

The two went silent for a moment, deep in thought as they reached the front gates of Haneoka. Ran didn't need another question running through her mind… but there it was. Did Ako… did Roselia see something that they didn't want to confide? If so, what could it be? 

Tomoe went ahead and entered their classroom, Ran at the back.

“Oooh~ Ran! Did you sleep well?”

Moca emerged from the edge of the door, jumping in to greet her friend. Obviously, Ran recoiled over the shock.

“O—of course not,” she replied.

“Aww~ do you want to be cuddled to sleep tonight?”

“No.”

“I couldn't sleep either!” Tsugumi chimed in. “What happened last night was crazy…”

“Yeah… we can talk more about it after class.”

With that, the bell rang. Ran immediately went to her seat, waiting for the lessons to start. It's not like she can absorb all of the materials she'll receive with all of these questions in her mind…

Wait.

Making sure she didn't mistook it, Ran glanced towards Himari. Is it just her… or does she look really worried?

* * *

School ended up being as uneventful as Ran expected. It was painless, at least… now she can start theorising with the five of them gathered near the school yard.

“Anything on the watch, Ran?” asked Tomoe, cracking open a can of orange juice.

“Nothing…” answered Ran, taking the umpteenth look at her Skywatch. “I pulled it out from my bag when we got out of class, and there was no alert or anything like that.”

“Maybe it's not working…?” Moca suggested, curiously eyeing the Skywatch herself.

“Couldn't be,” said Tomoe. “I mean, the letter said that she would contact you…”

“About that,” interjected Tsugumi, putting down her carton of milk, “I remembered the letter said something about us wishing to save the world… maybe we have to put our thoughts there first, then the woman will come?”

“But that's just ridiculous! Of course we want to save the world!”

Ran only realized the weight of her words after it left her tongue. Everyone went silent, knowing how much of a task that really is. Saving the world? They're just high-schoolers, how can they even do that?

“...sorry,” Ran muttered afterwards. “That was too much to expect from us, huh?”

“I—it's okay, Ran-chan!” said Tsugumi. “But… I wonder what that woman meant with "saving the world" to begin with…”

“Freaky… I don't like the sound of it.” mumbled Moca. 

They were once again in a dead-end. With very little lead they have, it's difficult to make sense of anything… 

“Himari? You've been quiet all this time. What's wrong?”

“Eh?!”

Himari looked like she just snapped out from being possessed. She ran her fingers through her hair awkwardly, seemingly at a loss for words.

“Uh… how should I say this…?”

“Just spit it out,” said Ran.

Fidgeting, Himari averted her gaze from any of them. “I—it's not that easy! It's related to the concert last night…”

“What about it, Himari-chan?” Tsugumi queried. All eyes are set on Himari now, waiting for what she had to say.

“Alright, alright… this is a big downer, but… Yukina-senpai—”

“Minato-san?” Ran cut across her words at once. “What happened to her?!”

“Calm down, Ran~ Hii-chan was literally about to say it,” Moca reprimanded, smacking her on the back of her head. “Hii-chan, please continue~”

Himari took a big gulp. “Uhm… I heard from our classmate… Yukina-senpai didn't come to school today.”

“So did Ako?” Tomoe interrupted her this time. “I mean, they had it really rough, I wouldn't blame her for—”

“I—I haven't finished yet!” said Himari. “Yukina-senpai didn't come… because her… her dad… she died last night, during the concert. He was… one of the monster's victims.”

It was as if an atom bomb just dropped before them, leaving a chilling silence behind. Just when they thought things couldn't get any worse… one of their friends lost her father. 

“Y—you're serious…?” Tsugumi stammered, unable to believe what she just heard.

“That's what the teacher said to our classmate… I confirmed it myself during lunch break,” muttered Himari gravely.

The gravity of the situation felt suffocating. Ran knew for a fact that Yukina respected her father a lot— something like this must've been a huge blow to her. 

“Those monsters… they caused all of this.”

She suddenly felt a surge of anger boiling within her. Clenching her fist, Ran's whole body started to shudder. She couldn't imagine the anguish Yukina is going through right now… and she can't forgive what those creatures had done to instigate that. 

What if… what if there's more of those monsters? Is that what saving the world meant from that letter? In that case… she wanted to do it. She wanted to save everyone she can, so that none of this ever happens again.

_Zing!_

“Ran, the watch...!”

Turning towards the Skywatch, Ran noticed the orb suddenly gleamed a bright red light. It then shot off particles of light to the air, creating…

“That's her! That's the woman!” Ran exclaimed, as the figure of the woman appeared before the five. She looked exactly like she remembered— black and white maid dress, long hair with dark color, and a pair of thin-rimmed glasses. Though, the figure before them looked translucent, as it's only a projection from the lights.

“You've chosen the path to protect. So be it,” said the woman in a clear voice. “The creature who attacked last night… more of them will begin to emerge.”

“More of them...?!” Tomoe choked, as they intently listened to the woman.

“They are called **Alterions** . They are powered by an object called the **Polaris Orb**. With your powers, you must purge the Alterions and extract the Polaris Orbs from them… then, you must destroy the Orb.”

“Wait— Alterions? Polaris… what?” Ran stammered. This felt too much for her brain to handle.

“You must hurry,” the woman went on, seemingly ignoring everyone's questioning looks. “More Alterions will emerge from now on… and it's up to you to purge them.”

“Wha— hey! You're not done here!”

But the woman thought otherwise. Her hologram image disappeared from their sight, leaving the five of them in a state of bewilderment.

“Just when things couldn't get more confusing…” Himari groaned.

Tomoe ran her fingers through her hair, staring at Ran with utmost uncertainty. “You reckon all of this is true? We have to beat these… Alter-thingies?” 

“She's given me the power to do it… so I guess that's what she wants me to do?” Ran replied, once again staring at her Skywatch. “So... I'll do it.”

“Don't be ridiculous, Ran…” Moca objected. “How can she expect you to do it? You said it yourself, she expected way too much from us— from _you_ …!”

“But she gave me the power to do it!” Ran insisted. “If she trusted me to do it… then I will!”

“No…!” 

Moca gripped Ran's right arm and pulled it by force. Tension began to rise as the two stared daggers at each other.

“H—hey, you two!” Tomoe yelled, moving closer in case a fight actually broke out. The two simply ignored her words.

“This isn't some comic book superhero story! You might actually get hurt!” shouted Moca, her words bearing a ferocity none has heard before. “You're just a high-school student! You can't just take all of that responsibility to yourself!”

“So what am I supposed to do?! Stand around and do nothing, when I have the ability to make a difference?!” Ran yelled back, trying to tug her arm away from Moca's grasp. “Those monsters just killed Minato-san's dad, Moca! And more of them will come— who knows who they might kill next if I don't act!”

“But…!”

“Moca… I don't care what you say, but I'm not going to let anyone else die. Minato-san… Minato-san must've felt so saddened by this. I won't let anyone else feel that way. Not when I have the power to do it.” 

Silence followed as Moca released her grip, her gaze falling to the ground. She didn't object any further, but still looked uncertain.

_“H—Help!”_

_“What on Earth is that?!”_

Suddenly, an uproar of panic came from the school yard. The five could distinctly hear metal clanking from there as well… 

“It's gotta be one of those Alterions…!” uttered Ran, before turning to her friends. “You guys, get to safety!”

“Ran…” Tsugumi mumbled.

“It's okay… I'm gonna be fine.”

With that reassurance, Ran lifted her Skywatch to chest level and pressed the watch's face. The orb inside gleamed bright by her command.

“ **Sky Change**!”

Spinning the outer ring of the watch, a flash of light engulfed Ran… and once more, she donned the red and gold suit. The others stared at her in awe, as she turned away and departed for her foe.

* * *

Clad in her red suit, it didn't take long for Ran to find the cause of the commotion… and she immediately recognized it.

“Y—you…!”

It was the monster who struck last night— the metallic human with a shark-shaped head. Now completely visible up close, she could make out more details of the body… it really looked like a regular person, but with shiny silver skin and a weird looking head.

“So you're an Alterion, huh…?” she uttered, getting to her fighting stance. “I won't let you harm anyone else!”

“Must… destroy…”

“Huh?”

Did it… _talk?_

“Destroy… everything…!”

It was more like a growl than a speech… but what did it say? It wanted to destroy everything?

“I won't let you! Come, **Sunlight Saber**!” Ran shouted, dashing towards the Alterion. The red sword emerged on her right hand as she got close, and Ran quickly landed a slash on it. However…

With a clank, the blade bounced off the Alterion's skin, not even leaving a single dent behind. The Alterion responded with a backhand strike, tossing Ran to the side. Her body slid through the ground before she stood up again.

“It didn't work...?!” she groaned, pulling her sword close. This won't be easy… 

The Alterion dashed towards her again, charging for a body tackle. Ran managed to swerve to the left, away from the attack. She tried smashing her sword's hilt to its nape, but it didn't flinch at all. Ran took a leap back to keep her distance, her brain whirring to find out how to deal with this metallic beast.

As Ran drew her breath, however… she noticed something peculiar from the ground. There were black spots that she assumed were shadows, but there wasn't any object that casted them. Furthermore, these black spots moved in such an erratic manner, she doubted that these are real shadows… 

Suddenly, the black spots rose and materialized into black blobs. There were eight of them, all surrounding her and the Alterion. The blobs then slowly shaped itself into something else… and Ran's suspicions were proven true.

“The black monsters from last night, too…?!”

Eight in total, the black creatures brandished their sharp claws and gathered beside the Alterion.

“So you're all working for the Alterion? Dammit…” 

The black creatures began to charge at once, two of them pouncing Ran at the same time. She managed to cut down both of them, but she didn't expect a third strike— another black creature snuck from her back and shoved her. With an unceremonious thud, Ran collapsed to the ground. 

The Alterion grabbed Ran's head and picked her up like a ragdoll. It then landed a ferocious punch on her gut. Ran gasped— she could smell blood splurging all over her helmet. Unable to fight back, she received another blow, then another, then another… she could feel her insides falling apart with each and every punch. Haphazardly, the Alterion tossed Ran's body to a wall. The force was enough to send her crashing through it, as she tumbled on the other side. 

Ran now lied on the debris, her body limp and powerless to move. It felt like her bones were falling apart…

Was Moca right all along? Is this responsibility too much for her to handle…?

She heard footsteps slowly coming close to her, and saw the Alterion towering over her weak body. 

“Destroy… I will destroy…”

Repeating those words, the Alterion lifted its fists high. Ran closed her eyes, waiting for its final attack, then—


	3. The Moon By Her Side

Moca couldn't get any sleep.

No matter what she did to force her sleepiness, she just couldn't do it. She could only lay motionless on her bed, staring at the ceiling. Strange… usually, when she's tired, it's easy for her to fall asleep. Yet now, after what felt like the most tiring night of her life… her eyes refused to close and her body rejected rest. Plus, there were way too many things clouding her mind for her to take a peaceful slumber.

She got up from her bed and picked up her phone, checking to see if there were any new messages she received. Alas… there were none.

Moca heaved a long sigh. “I hope they're alright…” she muttered, staring at an unanswered text she sent to Lisa.

**[You]:** _Lisa-saaaaaan_

 **[You]:** _Yoohoo, are you there?_

It felt rather uncharacteristic for her to text first… but no one can't blame her for acting this way. Shrugging off her concerns after the attack on the livehouse was practically impossible, and she really wanted to make sure that Roselia is really safe. Which is why, the lack of response she received really unnerved her.

“Maybe she needed some time to calm down…” Moca deducted, trying to bring a bit of positivity amidst her negative thoughts. “Yeah, that's probably it~”

But even as she said so, the feeling of unease kept crawling back to her. She hated feeling this way, being in doubt and worrying too much about things. She’d prefer if her mind is filled with something joyful right now, like the next chapter of her favorite manga coming this week, or the plans she made with her friends for summer break. But, as it stands right now… she could only think about what happened a few hours ago.

“...I wonder how Ran’s doing right now,” she muttered, curling up on the bed and hugging her legs. “She probably can’t sleep either...”

That’s another one of her concerns right now. She just witnessed her turn into a red knight or something like that, with the ability and finesse to defeat the monsters that were threatening her. She watched her every move, observed her incredible powers… seeing her turn into a full-blown superhero. Moca still had trouble accepting that as reality, as she never saw her friend do all of the feats she showcased earlier… but her eyes couldn’t have deceived her. Ran did all of that herself, and unless everything that’s happened tonight was a dream… that is the reality she needed to face.

“She won’t… get herself involved in anything like this again, right?”

Uncertainty chimed from Moca's words. She recalled what the letter said— something about "a mission" and "saving the world". Does that mean… all of this was only the beginning?

Letting out a sigh, Moca curled up and hugged her legs. She's worried about everything— about Roselia, about Ran, about the future… if only she could toss these feelings away. Alas, that was impossible, and she was forced to repress all of it within her heart.

All that she knew was, by transforming into that red knight… Ran had changed once again. And this time... she might never be able to catch up with her.

* * *

“Moca… I don't care what you say, but I'm not going to let anyone else die. Minato-san… Minato-san must've felt so saddened by this. I won't let anyone else feel that way. Not when I have the power to do it.” 

Hearing those words, Moca relieved the grip on Ran's arm, taking a few steps back and looking away. As she expected, once Ran puts her mind on something, there's no stopping her, even if she tried her hardest. 

Even if that means leaving her friends behind.

Suddenly, an uproar of panic came from the school yard. The five could distinctly hear metal clanking from there as well… 

“It's gotta be one of those Alterions…!” uttered Ran, before turning to her friends. “You guys, get to safety!”

“Ran…” Tsugumi mumbled.

“It's okay… I'm gonna be fine.”

 _It's gonna be fine, she said._ Moca felt like she should trust her at this point. But with how big of a burden Ran is carrying right now, and how powerless she is to help… she couldn't do it.

“ **Sky Change**!”

She painfully watched as Ran was engulfed in that red light, transforming once again into the red knight. Then, before she knew it… she was gone, off to fight whatever threat she's going to face.

“H—hey… what are we going to do?” asked Tomoe after a long silence. “We can't just… leave her?”

“I agree,” said Tsugumi, “but… what can we do against those monsters? We got cornered by them last night…”

“Yeah…” Himari grimaced. “The only one who has the power to beat them is Ran…” 

“But still, we can't just sit around and do nothing!” Tomoe objected. “Ran chose not to do that… and we should do the same!”

“Ran has the power to do it, Tomoe… we don't! There's a difference!”

“Argh, who cares? We still can't leave her alone like that!”

Tomoe was about to head over where Ran was heading, but both Tsugumi and Himari held her arms, preventing her from leaving.

“Tomoe-chan, don't!” insisted Tsugumi. “We have to believe in Ran-chan!”

Tomoe remained steadfast. “Believing in her means I gotta help her!” 

“We'd just get in the way, Tomoe! Don't do anything rash!” Himari yelled. “Moca, help me knock some sense to her!”

“...she's right.”

“What?!”

That response was so unexpected, Himari removed her grasp and stared at Moca. So did the others— even Tomoe didn't expect those words to come out from Moca's mouth.

Moca's whole body shook, her eyes casted to the ground. With her best friend's life at risk… she needed to drop the act. She needed to say what she truly feels, in order to reach her resolve.

“You all… don't want to be left behind, right…?” she muttered, her fists clenched. “That's what we've promised to Ran… that we'd stay by her side, to keep our same as always going.” 

“M—Moca-chan…”

“But Ran now has a power that we can't reach… how can we keep up with her now…?” Moca went on. “At least, that's what I thought… that's why I insisted on making her drop all of it.”

“...you were scared of being left behind again?” asked Tomoe.

“I thought that if she became that red knight for real… I won't be able to reach her. But…” 

“You know that's not true, right?”

“I suppose… I just remembered, even when I felt that I couldn't reach her, she still insisted for me to remain by her side,” Moca bitterly laughed. “I can't believe I forgot about that…”

Himari looked concerned by this. “So… what are you going to do…?” 

“Obviously… I'm going to be at her side, no matter what. After all, she needs her Moca-chan~”

The slow articulation from her voice returning, Moca looked more determined than ever. This is her resolve, and she's not going to back down from it. She's not going to leave her side… _ever._

Then, all of a sudden… Moca saw her _._

The woman from Ran's watch projection, this time in flesh. She stood far from where they are, smiling at Moca before disappearing from sight, leaving behind… 

Realization dawning upon her face, Moca sprinted towards where the woman was.

“H—hey, Moca!” shouted Tomoe, as the other three gave chase. Moca arrived first, and saw a briefcase laying on the ground. The same briefcase as the one they saw last night— at least, it's shaped identically.

Without delay, Moca crouched down and clicked on the case's lock. It unlocked without resistance, allowing Moca to open the case and see what's inside.

“...I knew it~!”

With a triumphant sneer, Moca pulled out the object from the case and showed it to her friends, who had just arrived.

Tsugumi gasped. “Moca-chan, that's...!” 

“A Skywatch~!”

It was similarly shaped as Ran's, though the red was replaced with turquoise blue. Moca strapped the watch on her right wrist… and immediately felt a strange jolt coming from it. Will it work for her? There's only one way to find out…

“Now… how did she do it again?” Moca pursed her lips, looking intently at her Skywatch.

“I think Ran-chan pressed the orb in the middle first! Try that, Moca-chan!” said Tsugumi. 

With her suggestion, Moca pressed the blue orb. At once, it emitted a bright blue light.

“Ooh~ then after this, I do a cool pose and say "Sky Change", right?”

“Yeah!” Tomoe nodded. “And I think she spun the outer ring too.”

“Well, then… time to try~ **Sky Change** ~!”

Moca spun the watch's outer ring. The light grew brighter and brighter, engulfing Moca's body. When it dissolved, Moca was wearing a suit similar to Ran's… but just like the watch, the red is replaced with turquoise blue. The emblem sewn on her vest was also different— instead of a sun, the logo was shaped like a crescent moon.

“Whoaaaa! Moca, you became just like Ran!” Himari exclaimed, as Moca took a good glance at her suit, admiring every nook and cranny of it.

“Hee hee hee, I have become the blue knight!” Moca giggled. “Now, it's time for me to go. Ran needs her Moca-chan, after all~”

“Man, I wish I got one of those Skywatch things too…” Tomoe groaned, before she patted Moca on the shoulder. “Well, whatever! We'll try to help with what we have! Focus on beating the monsters with Ran, 'kay?”

Moca nodded. “Don't worry, Moca-chan got this under control~”

* * *

“Gwaaah—!”

This was the third time Ran was flung through the air. She was sent crashing to a classroom wall, unceremoniously falling to the ground yet again. Still she refused to back down, struggling to get back on her feet.

The shark-headed Alterion approached her once more, the black clawed monsters flanking it at the sides. 

“Persistent… just die…!” growled the Alterion.

“Not until I stop you…!” Ran croaked. In reality, she knew she's at her limit— the Alterion is simply impervious to anything she threw at it, plus it is flanked by those black monsters. But she won't admit that… not when she has the responsibility to protect on her shoulders.

Limping forward, she was about to charge again, when… 

“Ran, you really shouldn't push yourself _that_ hard, y'know~”

Suddenly, an array of blue streaks— bullets? —came blazing through the air and landed on a few monsters, causing a barrage of explosions. Ran turned to where the bullets came from, to find someone in a similar outfit as her, but blue in color.

“That voice… Moca?!” she exclaimed.

Moca came striding to her side, carrying a white weapon shaped like a handgun in her hand. 

“Fufu. I, too, have gained the magnificent power of… whatever this is~” Moca bragged.

“Moca, this is serious! How did you get another Skywatch?!”

Before Moca could say anything, three of the black monsters charged forward, already recovering from Moca's previous attack.

“We can save that for later~ for now, let's deal with these baddies!” said Moca, aiming her weapon forward. “Show me what you got, **Moonlight Blaster** ~!”

The blaster shot off three rays of blue light, each homing onto the monsters and destroying them in a large explosion once in contact. More monsters came dashing towards the two, but Moca managed to blast them out from existence.

“Now for the last guy!” she uttered, as the Alterion charged towards them. Moca pelted it with her blaster bullets… but the bullets bounced off the Alterion's skin.

The Alterion reached the two and would've pounced both of them with its fists, had they not dodged in time. Moca and Ran swerved out from the attack and leapt to their opposite sides, Moca continuing to rain bullets upon the Alterion.

“It's not working…! My sword moves didn't work either!” shouted Ran, the two regrouping to face the Alterion again.

“Must be that skin…” muttered Moca. “It looked like it's made out of metal… maybe something hot can melt it...?”

“Something hot? Wait— that's it!”

Ran remembered one of the flashing images she saw. It was her, wielding a katana that's ignited with fire. If she could recreate that with her current abilities… 

“I've got just the thing,” said Ran. She called the **Sunlight Saber** to her hand again, concentrating all of her mind to the blade.

“Ignite with the flames of my courage! **Element Fire**!”

With a swoosh, the blade was coated with flame. Moca watched in awe as Ran twirled the blade around, creating fire trails as it swerved and swirled. 

“Ooh, that's super cool, Ran~!” she praised her.

“Yeah, yeah…” Ran replied casually. “Anyway, let's test this out.”

“Got it~ I'll go and distract 'em, then you go for the final hit!”

“Alright. Counting on you, Moca.”

“Of course! I promised to be by your side, after all~”

And with this power, with this resolve… she's going to do it. She's going to keep up with Ran, and stay by her side.

Moca ran to the side, launching bullets towards the Alterion. The bait seemed to work, because the Alterion now chased her. Ran took this as an advantage— while the Alterion was focused on getting to Moca, she easily swooped in front of it, and landed a single slash.

As they hoped, the plan worked. The Alterion was knocked back, reeling from the pain. The strike had left a large, searing scar on the Alterion's chest. Without hesitation, Ran continued the onslaught with a barrage of sword blows, finishing it off with a decisive slash. The metal Alterion collapsed to the ground.

Moca came back to Ran's side as they watched the Alterion's body slowly fade away, leaving behind a small orb on the ground. It looked like a pebble and shaped like one too— could this be the Polaris Orb that they must destroy?

Ran picked the orb up, stared at it for a moment, then crushed it to bits with her hand.

It's over… for now.

“Guuuuys!”

Ran and Moca reverted back to their original selves, as they saw their other three friends approaching them with bright faces.

“You two did it!” cheered Tsugumi.

“I can't believe how cool both of you are…” praised Himari, her eyes sparkling. “I mean, I saw the battle, and you two just go "woosh!" And the monster is defeated!”

“Yeay~ we're a super awesome team, Ran~!” Moca beamed towards her friend, who returned the smile and nodded. It looks like, even if there will be more of those Alterions showing up… she won't be carrying this burden of defeating them alone. That puts her mind at ease.

“Eh— Ran looked pretty badly beaten up, though,” Tomoe remarked. 

Right on cue, Ran blinked. “H—huh?”

Tsugumi gritted her teeth, her face making a strained expression. “Yeah… there's a lot of bruises in your face…”

“Fufu~ you couldn't beat them alone, could you? You needed the help from the great Moca-chan~” Moca teased, a playful smile on her pate.

“I—I had things under control before then…!” Ran protested. The other four laughed it off… and Ran decided to follow.

Despite everything, they're still here to support her. Right by her side… 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really bad at writing Moca, so I hope this is fine enough. ;;


	4. Anguishing Darkness

**“** I'm home!”

The sun was about to set when Tomoe reached her home. Waiting in front of the door, she stared absently towards her surroundings, recalling the events that transpired earlier. The more she thought about it, the crazier it became… monsters appearing and attacking the school, then Ran and Moca transforming into superheroes in colorful suits— if this was a fever dream, she wouldn't be surprised. But, as it stands right now, that was as real as it gets.

The door to her home swung open amidst her thoughts. Tomoe turned back to see her purple-haired little sister, waiting for her at the hem of the doorframe.

“Big Sis!” 

It was as if Ako hadn't seen her big sister in years. She looked tremendously relieved, going as far as grabbing Tomoe's arms and pulling her in.

“H—hey, Ako! What gives?” asked Tomoe at once, a little bewildered by this abrupt greeting.

“I heard about the monster from last night attacking school just now…” Ako replied with a pout, “I was really worried about you!”

Tomoe furrowed her eyebrows, confused at first. But then she grinned, realizing how fast news had traveled about what just happened.

“Well, I'm okay!” she beamed, “so are the rest too, thanks to Ra—”

 _Wait, no!_ Tomoe reeled back her statement before she could say anything else. Crap, she shouldn't have said something like that…

“Thanks to…?” 

To Tomoe's disdain, Ako caught wind of her slip up. As a result, she had to rack her brain for damage control.

“...um, thanks to a couple of masked guys!” she eventually spoke, “they stopped the monsters from rampaging!”

Unfortunately, that stirred up Ako's confusion even more. “Masked… guys?” she repeated, tilting her head.

“N—nevermind that!” Tomoe waved her hands, desperately trying to wriggle out from this topic. “All that matters is, I'm fine! How about you, Ako? How are you holding up?”

“Ah… I'm feeling better! Especially since you're safe, Big Sis!” Ako grinned, moving on from the topic herself. 

Internally, Tomoe breathed in relief. She ruffled her little sister's hair, curling a small smile as she did so.

“That's good.”

“Oh, how about the others? Did they get home safe?”

After a brief small talk about each other's conditions and what other things that happened at school, Ako was reminded of her current gaming session and immediately ran back into her room. Tomoe watched as she went, a smile still etched on her pate. She soon departed to her own room, with the intent to rinse all the things that just happened the last two days with a good cold shower.

* * *

**[Himari]:** _Ran and Moca were sooooo cool earlier!! ≧ω≦_

 **[Himari]:** _Too bad no one recorded the fight, it would've been viral_

 **[Moca]:** _and everyone would see how cool moca-chan was~_

As nighttime fell, Tomoe lay on her bed, absently staring on her phone. She wasn't particularly in the mood to respond to the Afterglow chatroom.

**[Ran]:** _no_

 **[Ran]:** _it's better for us to keep our identities a secret, moca_

 **[Moca]:** _eeehhh whyyy?_

 **[Moca]:** _it would be cool_

 **[Ran]:** _this isn't about cool_

 **[Ran]:** _we might risk ourselves and our families_

 **[Ran]:** _so we shouldn't reveal who we are_

 **[Moca]:** _ahhh, like masked superheroes_

 **[Moca]:** _aight, moca-chan agrees~_

“Masked superheroes, huh?” Tomoe muttered to herself. Moca probably liked the idea of being a superhero, just like in the mangas she read. Still, with that kind of attitude… is Moca taking this seriously?

**[Ran]:** _moca, this is serious_

 **[Ran]:** _people were killed by that alterion_

 **[Ran]:** _i'm pretty sure the woman would want us to take this seriously_

People were killed… that is the unavoidable truth of the situation. That includes Yukina's father, which probably left an impact on her.

“...and Ako, too...” 

Tomoe was reminded of how Ako kept this information to herself last night. Sure, she was probably in a state of shock… but usually, Ako would always confide in her no matter what.

**[Tsugu]:** _Of course Moca-chan takes this seriously!_

 **[Tsugu]:** _Right, Moca-chan?_

 **[Moca]:** _of course~_

 **[Moca]:** _why did you think she gave me the skywatch in the first place?_

 **[Moca]:** _we're doing this to stop anyone else from getting hurt_

 **[Moca]:** _you and me, ran~ ;)_

 **[Moca]:** _anyway, moca-chan needs her buns_

 **[Moca]:** _bubyeeee_

 **[Himari]:** _Ehh?_

 **[Himari]:** _Buns? This late?_

**[Ran is typing...]**

At this point, Tomoe had placed her phone on her desk cabinet. She got up from her bed and massaged her nape.

Perhaps, now's the time to confront Ako about it.

Strengthening her resolve, Tomoe walked out from her room and into Ako's. She had been staying inside her room all this time, only getting out during dinner. Her parents assumed she was still feeling under the weather… but she told Tomoe that she's feeling better already. So, what gives?

Reaching the door to Ako's room, she held the doorknob.

“...huh?”

However, as she tried to swing the door open, it resisted. Tomoe shook the door a few times, but it simply won't budge.

“I—it's locked!” came the voice of Ako from inside, “hold on!”

“Locked…?” muttered Tomoe. That's strange… Ako usually never locks the door to her room. The oddities just keep on piling and piling.

After an unnaturally long amount of time, the door finally opened… and Tomoe immediately gasped at what she saw.

Though Ako tried her best to wipe it off, her eyes were swollen with tears. 

“A—Ako?! What's—”

“Big Sis! You'll wake up mom and dad!” Ako reprimanded her, trying to repress her sadness.

“If anything, we need them to know!” Tomoe insisted. “Did… did you cry?”

Ako stopped her complaints, now averting her gaze from her big sister. Obviously, she didn't want Tomoe to see her like this…

Tomoe, still persistent, held Ako's shoulders and shook it. 

“Hey. What's wrong? Come on, stop bottling it all to yourself. I'm right here, y'know.” 

Still unwilling to look back at her sister's eyes, a dense uncertainty enveloped Ako. Tomoe noticed this and swallowed deeply.

“I already know what happened with Minato-san's dad. That's what you've been keeping to yourself, right?”

“H—how did you…?”

Looks like she was spot on, because Ako looked surprised by this.

“I heard at school. Even if you didn't tell me… I'd end up knowing about it anyway.”

“I guess…” Ako huffed.

“Obviously, you wouldn't want to talk about another bad thing after what happened last night… still, you shouldn't keep that to yourself for too long, Ako. It's not good for you.”

Tomoe kneeled down to be level with her younger sister, gently caressing her hair with a kind smile.

“I was planning to tell you anyway…”

For some reason though, Ako didn't look comforted. Her eyes, which she just dried, began to well up again.

“Ako? Hey, what's wrong with you?” urged Tomoe. “I'm trying to help you here—”

“Big Sis, stop!”

Ako's shouts rang across the hall, freezing Tomoe in place. Ako herself looked torn, her body trembling uncontrollably.

“Just… leave me alone for a bit… please…” she whimpered tremulously. “I'll tell you about it, but not now…”

Tomoe didn't object. She watched in silence as Ako went back to her room, closing the door in front of her.

“Ako…”

For a moment, she remained rooted on the spot. She could still feel the anguish from Ako's yells— something she would rarely do, especially to her big sister —permeating through the air. What happened to her? Was there something else beside the attack from last night that caused her to be this way? Was it so overwhelming that she needed some time alone?

And… was it wrong for Tomoe to ask?

After a moment, Tomoe walked away from Ako's room, heading back to her own. She felt horrible, pushing her little sister like that. She's already feeling gloomy, and her questioning only made it worse.

“...gah, I'm the worst.”

Muttering under her breath, Tomoe swung the door to her room open—

“H—haaaagh?!”

A slimy rope suddenly wrapped around her neck tightly, straining her breaths. The rope came stretching from outside, through her room's open window. It began to tug Tomoe's neck, trying to pull her out through the window.

Choking for dear life, Tomoe reached a table and held it tight, trying to resist the pull. It didn't work, however— the pulling force was so strong, it yanked her out through the window and sent her falling two stories down.

Before she could hit the ground, however, someone caught her in midair. She landed safely on the ground, on the hands of…

“Moca…?!”

Had Moca's face not concealed by her blue suit's helmet, Tomoe would've seen her grinning right now. She puts the taller girl back down, letting out a playful laugh.

“Hehe~ Moca-chan is here to save you, Tomo-chin~” she uttered, making a finger gun gesture.

“Wha… how? Why are you here?” Tomoe asked, still trying to comprehend what just happened to her.

“I was buying some buns, of course~ but then that monster showed up and started invading people's houses…”

“Monster…?”

Moca simply pointed towards a creature on their horizon. Though the darkness obscured some of its features… Tomoe could spot a red, hunchback monster with fins protruding through its body. It looked reptilian, scaly skin and all… and to affirm that assumption, the creature reeled in the rope that choked and pulled Tomoe into its mouth.

“That was its tongue…?!”

“Yikes~ you better take a bath after this, Tomo-chin.”

That was definitely the _least_ of her worries right now. Tomoe moved aside, allowing Moca to step forward and face the monster.

“So… you're an Alterion?” said Moca, pointing her Moonlight Blaster towards the monster. “Time for you to go, then~”

“ _Where…?! Where… watch from…?!_ ” growled the Alterion. Just like the previous one, this one seems to only have limited speech capabilities. Still, Moca could get the gist of what it's saying.

“A present~” Moca replied jokingly. “Just like this blaster to you~!”

Moca began unloading a series of energy bullets from her blaster, each shot homing in towards the reptile Alterion. However, it swiftly leapt up and evaded the bullets, retaliating by whipping its tongue towards her in midair. She swiftly dodged the tongue attacks and returned fire, but the Alterion swerved and swayed through the bullets with relative ease.

“So fast…!” Tomoe muttered, watching the fight unfold. The Alterion continued to stretch and flail its tongue all over the place while successfully dodging everything Moca is throwing at it. She did her best on evading too… but after firing off more energy blasts, Moca was left open to a counter-attack. The Alterion took advantage of this and wrapped its tongue on her left leg, yanking her up and slamming her into the ground.

“Moca!!”

Tomoe watched in horror as the Alterion continued to hurl Moca around like a ragdoll, sending her crashing into every wall and every patch of ground nearby. She needs to do something, or else Moca will lose…!

Without thinking at all, Tomoe ran towards the Alterion with a loud cry. She tackled the Alterion with her body, forcing it to release its tongue from Moca.

However… the Alterion only flinched a little, before reeling its tongue and wrapping it around Tomoe's body. 

“Ghah—!”

Tomoe could feel her bones starting to break, crushed by the tongue's tight grip. The Alterion lifted her body up and ran away, taking her with it.

“Tomo-chin!” Moca shouted, genuine panic now ringing through her voice. Though her body felt mangled after being thrown around, she still managed to get up and gave chase.

The Alterion continued its dash away from Moca, now reaching the outskirts of the Shopping District. Tomoe was starting to suffocate from the tight wrap as she struggled to release herself. But no matter what she does… she doesn't have enough power to break free.

If only she had a Skywatch… if only she had the power to fight, she would've prevailed. She would've been able to trump over monsters like this… the bastards that made Ako the way she is right now.

She didn't.

But to punish the Alterions for making her little sister cry… she's going to fight back, with or without those powers.

“Get… me off…!”

Through sheer will alone, Tomoe wriggled her arms out from the tongue wrap and tried pulling her body off. The wrap tightened, suffocating her even more, but Tomoe's burning spirit kept resisting.

And then… she saw her.

The maid woman appeared as she passed by, obscured by the night's darkness. She tossed something at Tomoe before fading back into nothingness.

Tomoe outstretched her arms to catch the thrown object, although it was unnecessary as it magnetized into her right wrist.

“This is…?!”

A green Skywatch now rests on her wrist. Without any hesitation, Tomoe tapped the watch's face.

“ **S—Sky… Change**!”

With a flick, Tomoe spun the outer ring and was immediately engulfed with green light. As it died down, Tomoe now dons an outfit similar to Ran and Moca, with the difference being the color being predominantly dark green and the emblem on the chest having an illustration of the sun, which is covered in half by a mountain.

Using her newfound strength, Tomoe broke out from the wrap with ease, grabbing the tongue and tossing the Alterion to the air. It crashed into a store wall, before lunging itself back at Tomoe and whipping its tongue towards her. However, Tomoe caught the tongue with ease and used it to pull the Alterion closer, before jamming her fist straight into its face. The force of the punch shook the ground, sending the Alterion flying away yet again.

“Tomo-chin!”

Moca had finally managed to catch up, staring at every nook and cranny on Tomoe's suit from the moment she arrived.

“That's cool, Tomo-chin~ you have the power to fight now~!” commented Moca.

“Heh, guess I do,” Tomoe nodded and laughed. “Looks like the woman had me covered.”

“Hee hee~ at this point, maybe Hii-chan and Tsugu will get one too~”

Their celebration was short-lived, as the Alterion sprung back into action. However, as it noticed Moca's presence along with Tomoe… it hurled boulders towards the two and fled.

“H—hey! Get back here!”

Moca blasted the boulders off while Tomoe tried to give chase, but she was walled off by black blobs emerging before her, transfiguring into the black shadow creatures they encountered earlier today.

“These guys again?!” Tomoe yelled, as two shadow creatures charged towards her with a combined claw attack. She ducked just in time, then Moca launched two blasts of energy that vaporized them both.

“Hm… these show up whenever there's an Alterion…” muttered Moca soon after, watching the other shadow creatures making their approach. 

Tomoe raised her fists and began to fight, beating down one creature with a barrage of punches before taking another one down with a powerful spinning kick. Three more approached her, but Moca swooped in from their backs, tripping one of them down before shooting the other two into bits, all while Tomoe stomped on the fallen one. Two remained, persistent as ever.

“I should be able to use weapons too…” uttered Tomoe, before stretching her arms forward to form an X. “ **Dusk Beater**!”

A long green staff was conjured on Tomoe's hands. She held it up and charged towards the two shadow creatures, slamming both of them down with two consecutive sweeps. 

Catching her breath, Tomoe watched as the shadow creatures turned to ash, before reverting back to her human form. Moca followed suit, giving Tomoe a pat in the back and a smile. Tomoe grinned back and gave a thumbs up.

This is far from over, obviously. Even though she has yet to understand Ako's anguish, she knew that these Alterions caused it. Now that she has the power… she'll do everything she can to punish them all.


	5. Dusk To A New Life

Even though she just experienced the two craziest nights of her life, Tomoe still departed to school the very next morning. At first, her parents were against the idea at first and told her to stay at home today, but she insisted on going anyway. After all… she had a lot to discuss with her bandmates.

“Tomo-chin, good morning~”

She turned to see Moca, along with Ran at her side.

“Ah, you guys! Mornin'!” she greeted with a grin.

“I heard about everything from Moca,” said Ran, “are you fine now, Tomoe?”

Tomoe nodded. “Of course! I can finally join you guys in fighting those Alterions.”

“Too bad the one we were fighting last night got away…” Moca uttered with a pout.

“Well… they're bound to show up again,” said Ran, letting out a sigh. “Anyway, Tomoe… how about Ako? I don't see her around, is she still missing school?” 

“A—ah, no! She went earlier than me, so we missed out on each other.” Tomoe denied. The mention of her sister made her feel off, especially after what happened last night.

Unfortunately, Ran caught wind of this strange behavior. “Something wrong with you and her?” 

Feeling the need to slap herself, Tomoe surrendered almost immediately. There's no point in hiding it, after all… but the full story needs to wait until later.

“...I'll talk about it after school, 'kay?”

* * *

"After school" finally came.

The five Afterglow members are now walking together, heading towards Hazawa Coffee to further discuss the recent string of events— and how they're roped into it by some chance.

“The way Moca-chan described it makes me want to see you in action, Tomoe-chan!” chirped Tsugumi, after Moca retold what happened last night for the third time.

“Yeah!” Himari agreed, “especially the part where you lifted all the monsters with one hand and slammed them down… you're so cool, Tomoe!”

“H—hold on a sec, I didn't remember doing that…” Tomoe rubbed her nape, frowning.

Ran groaned. “Moca, stop overblowing your story.”

“Heee~? But I'm just adding a little spice to it~” replied Moca with a cheeky smile.

“Oh, please. Next you're going to adapt the story into a manga.”

“Hmm… you know, that's probably a good idea, Ran~”

“You're unbelievable.”

A chorus of laughter followed. Amidst all the strange occurrences happening recently, at least some things remained the same… and they're all grateful about it.

_**Ding! Ding!** _

“Huh?”

However, their moment of joy was short-lived. Ran, Moca and Tomoe immediately drew their Skywatches from their bags, which had started blinking and beeping violently.

“Wh—what is it doing?” asked Himari, peering at the three anxiously.

Ran tried tapping the watch's face… and a holographic image was projected from it, revealing a footage of a rampant creature.

“That's the Alterion from last night!” Tomoe exclaimed.

“Looks like he's in the Shopping District…” muttered Moca, squinting at the hologram shown.

“Then we need to get there fast,” said Ran, turning over to the other two. “We'll see you guys at the cafe later.”

Both of them nodded promptly. “Be careful, you three!” said Tsugumi, before she and Himari headed off to safety.

The remaining three put their Skywatches on, each of them lighting up the orb within.

“ **Sky Change**!”

They spun their watch's rings at the same time. With a flash of light, they're inside their battle outfits again. 

“Come on!” Ran exclaimed. 

Together, they went off towards where the Alterion is. Didn't take them long— within a few minutes, they spotted the rampant reptile Alterion wrecking the buildings within the Shopping District.

Moca immediately drew her **Moonlight Blaster** and started shooting. The Alterion was knocked back a few feet, before regaining its footing and spotting the three.

“Watch… users…!” growled the Alterion, as it quickly opened its mouth and spewed its long tongue out. The tongue emitted an eerie orange glow, before blasting out a hail of fireballs everywhere.

“Watch out!”

Ran, Moca and Tomoe moved as fast as they could to evade the raining fireballs, but they ended up getting hit by the sheer intensity of it.

“Since when can it do that?!” Tomoe barked after getting thrown back by three consecutive fireballs, now keeling on the ground.

“Never mind that— how are we supposed to beat it?!” Ran shouted back, rolling under a balcony to shield herself. “Moca, can you shoot it?!”

“Not exactly easy with all of these…” uttered Moca. She has been trying to aim her blaster towards the Alterion, but the fireball rain made it difficult for her to stay still. As it continued, however… she had an idea.

“Ran! Remember that fire sword power you have? Try doing that but with water!” 

“Huh…? Oh, right!”

At once, Ran called forth her **Sunlight Saber** to her hand.

“Ripple and tear through my foes! **Element Water**!”

A jet of water shot out from the tip of Ran's blade, streaming through the air before entering Moca's blaster. 

“There!”

Moca snorted. “"Ripple and tear"? Pfft— seriously…?”

“Sh—shut up! Just shoot it already!”

Still laughing, Moca started firing water-powered blasts into the fireballs, effectively thinning out their amount.

“Alright! Let's charge!” shouted Tomoe, summoning her **Dusk Beater** and storming towards the Alterion, Ran following at her back while Moca kept shooting down the fireballs.

With a swift strike, Tomoe hurled her staff straight into the reptile Alterion's face, sending the beast flying off and stopping its fireball rain. Ran emerged just as the Alterion was about to crash into a wall, leaping and kicking it onto the ground. Not wasting any time, Tomoe followed with a pounce with her staff, smashing the Alterion down.

Just like previously, the Alterion turned into ash and left behind a Polaris Orb. Tomoe crushed it with her boot, ending their struggle of the day.

“Phew, that was something,” she uttered afterwards, as the three of them gathered around the remains of the Alterion. 

Tomoe glanced at the ashes under her feet, exhaling deeply. “Looks like this will be our responsibility for a while, huh?”

“Yup,” Ran nodded. “We're the only ones who have the power to, after all.”

“Hm…”

Tomoe thought deeply about it for a moment. Looks like her life is going to change a little from now on, because that really felt like a huge responsibility to shoulder… but for the sake of protecting everyone, especially her little sister, she won't hesitate to do it.

“By the way, I'm hungry~ let's go to Tsugu's cafe already!” Moca complained.

“When are you _not_ hungry?” hissed Ran, “but yeah, they're probably waiting for us.”

Turning back towards the two, Tomoe nodded. At least, her friends stays the same as always.

“Well, let's not make them wait any longer, then!”


	6. Unwavering Support

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for being so slow, I'll try to pick up the story's pace and bring faster updates so that I can get to the juicy stuffs qwq
> 
> also shoutouts to va-11 hall-a soundtrack for keeping my brain juices flowing

“Here you go~ our specialty cake for all of you!”

The five members of Afterglow had finally gathered in Hazawa Coffee after a brief stint with the elusive Alterion. Now enjoying their temporary moment of respite, the five enjoyed tea and treats provided by Tsugumi and her mother.

“Yay~ a victory snack~” Moca chirped, immediately digging into her plate of cake. “Thank you, Tsugu~”

“Gah, and I was  _ just _ getting through my diet again…” Himari groaned. “Oh, well. I'll eat it.”

“If you don't want to, you can hand it over to Moca right here,” Ran uttered, watching the girl munch her cake like there's no tomorrow. 

“And miss out on the Hazawa specialty cake? No way!” replied Himari, pouting.

Moca nodded sagely. “Hii-chan gets it, this cake is awesome~ Did you bake it with a lot of love, Tsugu?”

“Uhm, I… guess?” Tsugumi replied with uncertainty, cocking her head to the side. 

“Everything Tsugu makes has tons of love! This cake included!” Himari agreed, taking a bit of her own slice.

“Oooh~ Hii-chan is on the same wavelength as me!” said Moca, somewhat looking a little smug.

“That doesn't happen often,” Ran commented. She had eaten a little bit of her slice, downing it with some bitter coffee.

Tsugumi lets out a chuckle, before turning to Tomoe. “Uh… Tomoe-chan?”

“Huh?”

Tomoe had been playing around with the cake on her plate all this time, seemingly having something else in her mind. It wasn't until Tsugumi called her name that she joined in the conversation.

“You look like you're bothered by something,” Tsugumi continued, as all eyes were set on Tomoe now.

“Is it about Ako?” Ran guessed, “you haven't told us what happened between you two.”

“Eeeh?!” Himari gasped. “Something happened between you two?!”

“I—it's not that serious!” said Tomoe defensively, before letting out a sigh. “I guess I promised you that I'll tell everything… ah, well.”

With that, Tomoe began explaining the events that transpired last night with her and Ako, and how anguished Ako looked back then. The other members listened to her intently, some looking stern while others concerned.

“After that… the thing with that Alterion happened,” said Tomoe, concluding the story. “I don't know if she knew about that, because I haven't seen her since… she got to school before me this morning.”

“I didn't know Ako-chan was that affected by the attack…” Tsugumi uttered, a somber frown on her pate. “Everyone else in Roselia must've had it rough, especially Yukina-senpai…”

Ran flinched a little as she heard Yukina's name, remembering her deceased father. She hasn't seen Yukina ever since the night of that concert… she's still worried about her well being.

“But that's really strange… isn't it?” Moca spoke up. “Even if she was affected by it… Ako-chin isn't the type to keep things to herself. Especially since she admires Tomo-chin so much~”

“That's what I thought too,” Tomoe affirmed, “though… Ako promised to tell me everything after a while. Maybe she just wasn't comfortable talking about it back then.”

“Hmm… that's gotta be it if she told you that,” said Himari. “I wouldn't blame her with all that's happening… it's nuts.”

Her fists clenched, Ran gritted her teeth. “So many people are suffering ever since those Alterions show up… I won't ever forgive them.” 

After telling the whole story, Tomoe looked more relaxed. The girl exhaled and curled a grin, patting Ran in the shoulder.

“Well, we have the power to stop them from doing more harm!” she uttered. “The three of us will do everything we can to protect everyone, so that they won't suffer anymore! Right, Moca?”

“That's right~” Moca responded with her usual playfulness, “nobody can stop us~!”

“Yeah… definitely,” Ran agreed, chuckling softly. At the very least, she's not alone in this.

Tsugumi looked at the three with a small smile, but her lips trembled slightly as her gaze faltered. Himari, who appreciated the others' enthusiasm, noticed this strange behavior.

“...Tsugu? What's wrong?” she asked. The three stopped their cheering, all of their eyes now set on Tsugumi. 

“O—oh, nothing!” Tsugumi waved her hands. “It's just… you three are so cool, you know? Putting yourselves on the line to protect others… and having the power to do it.”

Though her lips curled a smile, Tsugumi looked strained. 

“I… I want to do that too. I want to protect everyone, just like you guys…” she went on. “I want to be useful for once…”

“Tsugu…”

Himari stared at Tsugumi somberly, as if some of her anguish came to engulf her as well.

“There you go again, Tsugu~” Moca uttered in slight disappointment. “How can you say that when you've always been working so hard and being Tsugurrific?”

“B—but… this is different, isn't it?” Tsugumi protested. “I can't do anything in front of those monsters…”

“Don't be like that, Tsugu!” said Tomoe. “I got a feeling that the maid woman is probably preparing a Skywatch for you two… so you'd be able to fight with us soon!”

“You sounded very confident about it…” uttered Ran. “Either way, you don't have to worry about it, Tsugu. With or without powers, there will always be something you can do to help us. Just like always.”

“Really…?”

“Yup~ for example, you made this cake for us~!” chirped Moca.

Ran rolled her eyes and groaned. “Can't you make a compliment about anything  _ besides _ food?”

“But it was a valid compliment, wasn't it~?”

“You're not exactly helping Tsugu here.”

As the two bickered, Tsugumi thought about what Ran had said. With or without powers… she could protect people too? 

She wanted to protect them all. She doesn't want anyone to suffer… and she's going to make sure that happens, whether or not she gains that power.

“Then—”

She suddenly stood up, attracting the others' attention. 

“—I'll work extra hard to help you guys! Even if the maid woman doesn't give me those powers… I'll do my best to protect everyone!”

Tsugumi looked fiercely determined, leaving the four stunned for a moment. 

Moca was the first to break out a smile, nodding approvingly. “See, that's more like our Tsugu~”

“I—I'll work extra hard too!”

Following Tsugumi, Himari stood up too. She looked just as determined.

“After all, I'm still Afterglow's leader! I have to be reliable, even without powers!”

Tomoe laughed. “And that's our Himari! Boy, I'm getting fired up just from seeing you two!” 

“Mhm, me too,” said Ran, cracking a satisfied smile. “We better not be left behind just because we have the power.”

“Hm, hm~ Moca-chan will obviously work hard and stay ahead in the game~” uttered Moca.

* * *

Time has passed, and now the sun is about to set. Already bidding farewell to her bandmates, Himari now walked alone on her way to her house. She felt rather drained today… she could do with a shower once she got back.

Their conversation at the cafe earlier kept looping within her mind, specifically what Tsugumi said.

“I said I'll do my best too… but I don't know exactly what to do,” she muttered. “Man, I'm not even sure if I want to be roped in this…”

Everyone else was so determined to use their powers to protect… even Tsugumi, who had no power at all, had the willpower to. Himari, on the other hand… she felt conflicted about it. Sure, she did say that she's going to work hard too back then, but that's only to keep up with her friends. Obviously, being the leader of Afterglow, her responsibility is to look after them. But to share the same sentiments with them…

“...I do want to protect other people too, but…”

Was it fear? Was she afraid? Or was she doubting herself? Lacking confidence that she can protect others? Himari couldn't pinpoint the exact feeling. All she knew was that there's something in the way between her and her willingness to protect others… and she needed to shake that off.

Taking a turn on the neighborhood block, Himari continued to walk home, her thoughts kept weighing her mind. Then, all of a sudden… she spotted something.

“Huh…?”

In an empty playground park not far from where she was, two girls wearing the Hanasakigawa  _ seifuku _ stood side by side to each other. Himari didn't recognize their faces, but the way they're standing completely still in the middle of a deserted playground struck her as odd. 

And then, another figure emerged from the shadows. This one was a tall girl— at least Himari thought it was a girl due to the body shape, but her face was obscured by a full-face helmet so she couldn't exactly tell. Aside from that, this tall girl also wore a vest akin to the ones used by the military with a black tight jacket under it, along with jeans reinforced with some sort of plates, protecting some parts of the legs.

Surrendering to her curiosity, Himari decided to approach them quietly. She snuck into the playground and hid behind a tall slide set, peeking from the back of it. Being up close, Himari noticed a detail she missed earlier— the helmeted woman is carrying a briefcase. She raised it to her chest level and picked something up from it.

“It's… pebbles?” Himari muttered. She wasn't wrong— in the helmeted woman's palm, two shiny, pebble-like objects rested. Himari could've sworn she had seen those pebbles before, but she couldn't remember whe—

She remembered. 

She remembered seeing it as clearly as if it was yesterday. In fact, she  _ did  _ see it yesterday. It was just like the pebble Ran crushed after beating the Alterion attacking Haneoka…

“Polaris Orbs…?!”

She held herself not to shriek, watching in baited breath as the helmeted woman placed the orbs on both of her hands, before pushing each of her palms against the two Hanasakigawa students' foreheads.

Then… something unimaginable happened before Himari.

The two students' body emitted a blinding white light, forcing Himari to squint to see through. The light slowly separated itself from their bodies… before materializing into two different Alterions. They are completely humanoid with animal-like heads, just like the other two. One of them had an eagle-shaped head complete with a shiny steel beak and wings that resembled ones that belong in airplanes— even having thrusters on them. The other Alterion had the head of a buffalo, with large horns and a comically bulked up body. Also, a cannon-like weapon replaced its right arm.

The two schoolgirls fell to the ground, seemingly unconscious after unleashing these two Alterions from their bodies, while the helmeted woman simply left from the spot, disappearing from view.

“I—I have to warn the others…!” uttered Himari. She was about to book it out of there… but a misstep caused her to trip over a pipe and fall.

Unfortunately for her… the Alterions noticed. The Eagle Alterion immediately activated its thrusters and made a beeline towards Himari.

“Kyaaaah! Get away, you freaks—!” Himari wailed, quickly getting up to her feet and running as fast as her legs could allow it. From her back, she could hear the thundering footsteps from the Buffalo Alterion, along with the whizzing sounds from the Eagle Alterion's wings. 

But those are the last things in her mind right now. Every single fibre of her body, every cell, every atom… it's all urging her to do the exact same thing;

_ Run. _

* * *

Back at Hazawa Coffee, Tsugumi had just finished cleaning up a vacated table. After the discussion she and her bandmates had prior… Tsugumi felt even more urged to work as hard as she can. She thought of ways to support her friends from the backlines as she picked up the dirty dishes and cups, sometimes even mumbling those plans.

“...that could work. I could try and learn more about those Alterions…”

“Tsugumi-chan!”

“Ah, wait a minute! I'm coming!”

That was her mother calling… she wondered why?

Carrying the dishes and cups to the sink to be washed later, Tsugumi was still thinking about how she would help her friends. There's not a lot that came to her mind… without the powers of a Skywatch, her options are painfully limited.

“I know I said I'd work hard with or without powers… but I wish I had a Skywatch,” she muttered. “That way, I can actually get involved in protecting others…”

She arrived at where her mother called her, and noticed that she was carrying a box wrapped in sealed paper. 

“This package is for you… no address from where, though,” said her mother. “Were you anticipating a package? Did you buy something online?”

“No…?” Tsugumi tilted her head. A package for her? With no address from whom?

“Well… you better check it out anyway,” said her mother, handing the package over. “If it's anything dangerous, please throw it away.”

Tsugumi took the mysterious package and moved somewhere else to unwrap it. She opened the wrapping to see a strong metal case inside… the case was really sturdy, so the thing inside must've been important.

With her breath held, Tsugumi took the case's lid off, and…

“N—no way…! This is…!”

A Skywatch rested inside the steel case. She picked it up with as delicately as possible, as if she was tending to a baby.

This… was a real Skywatch. The shapes are completely similar to the ones that Ran, Moca and Tomoe had… but the color is yellow.

“This is mine…?”

Even as she held it, she couldn't believe it herself. Was she really trusted with this responsibility…?

**_Ding! Ding!_ **

Before she could grasp the reality of the situation, the Skywatch began to ring, the orb inside beeping violently. She had seen this earlier— Ran tapped the watch's face and it showed an Alterion. Which means… there's another Alterion nearby?!

Tsugumi quickly did what Ran had done, and an image was projected before her.

And what she saw made her jaw fall on the floor.

“H—Himari-chan?!”


	7. As The Stars Dawned

The scattered footsteps of people can be heard as they scrambled to escape from a towering, buffalo-headed monster. Each step it took shook the ground beneath it, shattering windows and leaving craters everywhere.

Despite the chaos it caused, the Buffalo Alterion didn't attack any of the civilians. It didn't even use the cannon replacing its right arm. All it did was stroll around, occasionally turning its head left and right. It seemed like it was looking for something… or rather, someone.

From behind a large tree, Himari tried to make as little sound as possible. Every muscle in her body was trembling from fear, but she tried to be as still as possible. She could hear the loud steps of the Buffalo Alterion, which she hoped will mask any faint noises she'd make.

This is ridiculous… never in her life did she imagine being chased by a monster like this. It was almost like this belonged in her nightmares, but this was as real as it can be. Why are they targeting her anyway? It's not like she's anyone important… yet these monsters have been ignoring everything else just to catch her. What's the deal with that?

She could hear the thundering footsteps becoming fainter and fainter… that could mean the Buffalo Alterion was leaving. Once it was quiet enough, Himari got out from her hiding spot and exhaled deeply.

“How on Earth did I get roped into this…?” she groaned, “now those Alterions are actively looking for me… ugh, this stinks!”

If only she didn't submit to her nosiness, none of this would've happened. Sure, the Alterions would still be there, but at least she got enough breathing room until the others arrive to deal with them… but no, instead she decided to take a closer look at them. Curiosity killed the cat, and it sure as hell would kill her now if she's not careful.

“But… I do know where they come from now,” she muttered, “and I also know that someone has been making them… that's a big clue for the others to think about.”

Himari wasn't able to recognize who, but at least she was able to confirm that someone is indeed behind all of this. It wasn't some strange natural cause… an individual, or maybe a group is manipulating this.

“Just playing with people's lives like that… urgh, they're so cruel!” 

How she wished to have the powers of a Skywatch. She doubted herself before… but now that she knew that someone was masterminding this, she wanted to beat the ever living hell of whoever they are. Regardless… with or without powers, she had already promised to work hard.

“Alright!” Himari pumped her fist, looking more determined than ever. “I'm  _ really _ gonna work hard to help!”

_ Swoosh! _

“Himari!”

Had someone not carried her away at the very last second, the thing that zoomed at her from the sky would've rammed straight into Himari. She looked up to see who it was… 

“Tomoe…?!”

Already in her battle suit, Tomoe released Himari from her grasp. 

“Are you okay? Did you get hurt?” she asked, checking up the other to see any wounds.

“I—I'm fine!” Himari replied, still a bit shaky after that ambush. “Urgh, I forgot that there's another one…”

“Another one?!”

Explosions and blaster shots ensued, interrupting their conversation. Himari could see Moca and Ran fighting against the Eagle Alterion, giving everything they got on the line.

“Himari, get as far away from here!” Tomoe shouted amidst the chaos. 

“But I want to help you guys—”

“You can help by staying away! This is serious, Himari!” 

For a moment, Himari hesitated. Tomoe waited for her to leave, but she looked impatient, eager to rejoin her friends in the fight.

“...alright, I'll go,” Himari eventually spoke, much to Tomoe's relief. “But promise me that you won't get hurt!”

“Of course! It's a promise,” Tomoe nodded briskly, giving the other a thumbs up.

With that, the two parted ways. Tomoe returned to the battle, while Himari ran as fast as she could away from it. Frankly, she was still worried about the three… but she knew that they could handle themselves.

Himari kept her pace up until she was far enough from the scene of the fight. She took a stop to catch her breath, letting her legs rest after all of that running.

“Well, I don't have to worry about workouts anymore…” she muttered, wiping the sweat off her forehead. Looking around, she found herself in the neighborhood near her house. Just a few more blocks and she'll be home—

_Thump._ _Thump._

Oh, no.

Himari spun around… and her body froze in terror again.

The Buffalo Alterion was before her, its loud and thunderous footsteps crushing her eardrums. It had finally found its prey, and it certainly won't let go now.

Before her mind could even think about it, Himari ran as fast as she could, away from the Alterion. However, it raised its cannon arm and fired a blast that barely grazed her, causing an explosion that knocked her to the ground.

She could feel a pang on her left shoulder as she got up to her feet, limping backwards to keep her distance.

“What's… what's the deal with you…?!”

Himari is running out of options. That cannon could obliterate her within seconds… and by the small chance that it missed again, the Alterion could just shoot again.

However, the Alterion didn't do that. Instead, it lowered its cannon and approached Himari. And then…

“Himari-chan!”

“T—Tsugu?!”

Tsugumi ran towards Himari as the Alterion got closer, looking concerned over her friend's condition.

“Y—you're bleeding…!” she gasped. 

Only now did Himari notice the wound on her left shoulder, doused in blood. So that's where the pain came from… 

“Ah— nevermind that, what are you doing here?!” she asked urgently.

“I'm going to fight it!” Tsugumi replied, her face now brimming with determination.

“F—fight it…?!”

“Yeah! Stay back, Himari-chan!”

At that moment, Tsugumi raised her right arm… and Himari immediately understood. 

There was a yellow Skywatch resting on Tsugumi's wrist now, and she wasted no time in tapping the face of it.

“ **Sky Change**!”

Spinning the watch's outer ring, Tsugumi was engulfed in a flash of light, before donning her battle suit. It was similar to the others', with yellow being the dominant color. The sewn emblem on her vest was in the shape of a golden star.

“W—wait, Tsugu…!” Himari shouted, “you can't beat it alone!”

“Then I'll just hold it off until the others come!” Tsugumi responded, before charging straight into battle.

The Buffalo Alterion fired another shot from its cannon, which Tsugumi slid under with ease. She got up and jumped, raising her fist and hitting the beast with a roundhouse straight into the face. It wasn't enough to knock it down, but it did send the Alterion reeling back a few feet. In response, it launched a series of blasts in rapid-fire, forcing Tsugumi to leap and dodge around.

Himari, who was watching the battle, was almost caught in the crossfire. She managed to duck in time, running to the back of a nearby building's wall for cover. 

Tsugumi finally managed to return to the offensive after the Alterion had finished firing, charging towards it again. She rolled under the Alterion's sweeping arm, retaliating with a series of powerful punches and closing it with a kick in the groin. Not letting up with her attacks, Tsugumi was about to jump again, but…

“Ah…?!”

Tsugumi could feel a tight grip on her right ankle, tugging her to the ground. A shadow creature had emerged from the floor she stood, grabbing her leg and preventing her from moving. The Alterion had recovered from the previous barrage, unloading a blast that directly landed on Tsugumi.

“Tsugu!!” Himari shrieked. She could only watch in terror as Tsugumi flew and crashed into a building by the blast, falling to the ground with a mundane thud.

As Tsugumi struggled to get on her feet, four shadow creatures emerged around the Buffalo Alterion, greatly throwing the odds against her. Despite that, she still stood up with unbridled defiance.

“Come… **Star Spear**!” 

She called forth a large spear into her hands, with a large yellow blade on the tip emitting a radiant glow. The shadow creatures charged first, leaping from both sides to overwhelm Tsugumi. They attacked with their claws at the same time, but Tsugumi's spear managed to slice them down before they could hurt her. 

Two more shadow creatures came leaping from her back. Tsugumi stabbed the ground and used the spear as a balancing pole, raising her body up and kicking both of them down. However, the Alterion fired a blast at her while she wasn't looking, sending her flying once more with a destructive explosion.

“No…! Tsugu!!” wailed Himari. Tsugumi could feel a sharp pain all over her body. Still she stood, using the spear to support herself.

“No… no, no!” 

Himari shuffled around. Her friend is currently struggling, yet she couldn't do anything to help her. It's her responsibility to look after her friends… and she couldn't do it now.

Except…

Himari had thought about this before, but only now did it actually come to her mind. A way to convince  _ her. _

“Maid lady!!” 

She screamed from the top of her lungs, alerting both the Alterion and Tsugumi, momentarily stopping their battle.

“I… I really want to protect everyone! My friends, my family… everyone!! So please… give me that power!!”

For a moment, silence followed her desperate cries. And then… she saw her.

The maid lady stood before Himari with a smile. She tossed something towards her before disappearing. Himari caught it… and with a relieved smile, saw that it was a pink Skywatch.

“Himari-chan…!”

No helmet could mask how happy Tsugumi was, to see her friend acquiring this power as well. 

Himari strapped the Skywatch on her wrist. The pain on her left shoulder suddenly went away, in its place an all encompassing warmth radiating from the watch.

With renewed vigor, she came running to Tsugumi's side. “I'll help you now, Tsugu!” she declared.

“Mhm!” Tsugumi nodded. “Let's do this together!”

Himari lifted her watch and tapped its face, and the orb inside emitted a pink glow.

“ **Sky Change**!”

With a flash of light, Himari now donned her very own battle suit. It was predominantly pink this time, with the emblem on the vest being in the shape of a sun, covered in half by wavy lines that resembled sea water.

“Alriiiight, let's go!” she declared. The two charged at the Alterion, who fired off a barrage of blasts towards them.

“Go, go! **Dawn Gauntlet**!”

Himari summoned a rugged pink gauntlet on her left hand. She outstretched it forward, conjuring a barrier that protects her and Tsugumi from the oncoming blast. Once they're close, Tsugumi launched herself into the air and landed a direct slash on the Alterion's head. At the same time, Himari converged all of the energy she used to create the barrier back into the gauntlet, throwing a powerful punch with it on the Alterion's gut.

The combined strike was enough to topple the Alterion down to the ground. Himari raised her left hand and opened her palm, allowing Tsugumi to land her foot there. With full force from the gauntlet, Himari pushed Tsugumi and propelled her high. The Alterion still on the ground, Tsugumi pointed her spear downwards on her descent, stabbing it square in the chest as she landed. 

The Alterion slowly disintegrated into nothing, leaving behind the Polaris Orb used to create it. Tsugumi picked it up and, after a nod of approval from Himari, crushed it into dust. With no other enemy in sight, the two returned to their normal states.

“Phew… we did it, Tsugu!” cheered Himari. “Thanks for coming. I thought I was toast back then…”

“I—it's nothing!” Tsugumi replied, waving her hands. “It was a bit surprising for me to suddenly get this Skywatch, but it immediately alerted me about you.”

“That's a relief… also a relief that my calls worked. That maid lady really operates weirdly, huh?”

“How did you know she was going to come and hand you the Skywatch?”

Himari grinned after hearing this question, feeling a stroke of genius within herself. “I figured out that she only gave the others the Skywatch when they outright declared their willingness to protect others. I think that's how she judges whether we're worthy for the watch or not!”

“So… she really did choose us?”

“Uh-huh! And we've proved that she can count on us!”

“I see…” Tsugumi nodded in comprehension, before smiling widely. “In that case, she really believed in us, then!”

“Mhm! And we're not going to put that trust to waste! Let's work hard to protect everyone, Tsugu!”

“Yeah! Together with the others, too!”

More determined than ever, the two grinned at each other. From now on, they're going to fight as one.

“Ah!” Himari snapped her fingers, a bolt of realization striking her mind. “Tsugu, let's do  _ that  _ with me!”

Tsugumi tilted her head. “...that?”

“You know the one! The vibe matches, and I think we can do it if it's just the two of us!”

“O—oh, that…” Tsugumi giggled awkwardly. “Okay, then!”

Himari looked like she couldn't be any more happier.

“Yay! One, two, three! Ei, ei, oh~!”

“Ei, ei, oh!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's quite funny how in Poppinranger I managed to write triple the chapters in the same time span when compared to this one.
> 
> Oh, well. Hope you're enjoying the ride despite the slower updates! It's gonna be a long one.


	8. Together as One, A Coalescing Glow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I removed the akorin and tomohima tags because I feel the story wouldn't be able to fit them.
> 
> Then again, we haven't even gotten to the pairings yet—

Somewhere, inside the highest floor of a skyscraper overlooking the city…

“So all five of them are Rangers now…?”

“Yes. Our two Alterions have failed in taking them to custody.”

“Tch, of course things aren't going to plan… how about our second initiative?”

“Subject Minato has received the Landwatches and the video.”

“Good. Let's hope that they take the bait. For now… we just have to wait and see.”

“What about the Alterions? Buffalo was eliminated, but Eagle still roamed free.”

“Leave it be. It'll get destroyed like usual, and we'll collect the data. If we're lucky, we can get the purified Polaris Orb as well.”

“Understood.”

* * *

“Whoa! You two actually have it?!”

It was the day after the two Alterion attacks. The members of Afterglow now gather on the rooftop of the school during lunch break, discussing the previous day.

“Yup~!” Himari replied with a wink, “let's show them, Tsugu!”

The two pulled out their Skywatches from their bags for the others to see.

“Uwooh~ that's really cool~” said Moca. “Guess you were right on the money when you said they're gonna get it too, Tomo-chin~”

“Ahaha, do I?” Tomoe grinned. “Well, all that matters is we all finally got one!”

“That means we can operate as a full team from now on,” uttered Ran, a small smile on her lips.

“Yup! We can start by beating down that flying Alterion!” Tomoe agreed.

“Eh— you haven't beaten it?!” ask Himari, furrowing her eyebrows.

Ran sighed and shook her head. “No… it got away just when we're about to beat it. It was so fast, Moca couldn't even get a clear shot.”

“In my defense, I wasn't the one that let it slip away…” Moca pouted.

Chuckling awkwardly, Tomoe ruffled her nape. “Yeah… that was my B.”

“We'll probably have another shot at it, so don't worry,” said Ran. “Anyway, how about you two? How did you get the Skywatches?”

“Well… remember when I told you there's another Alterion, Tomoe?” Himari began. “That other Alterion tried to chase me, but Tsugumi came to the rescue! She already had the watch when she got there.”

“It was sent to the cafe after you guys went home,” Tsugumi explained.

“Mhm! And I got my own during the fight, and we managed to beat the Alterion!”

“Why did it chase you…?” asked Tomoe, though she looked like she wasn't expecting an answer.

“I don't know… but— ah!”

A memory came bolting back into Himari's mind, surprising the others. She planned to explain it before, but the excitement of showing her Skywatch got in the way.

“I have something to tell all of you. It's super important, so pay attention!”

The others threw quizzical glances at each other. When Himari has something to say to them, that thing is usually out of left field. But she looked a lot more serious than ever, so they listened anyway.

Thus, Himari explained what she had seen regarding how the two Alterions appeared. From the two Hanasakigawa students, the mysterious lady inserting the Polaris Orbs into their bodies, and how it created the Alterions. 

As Himari expected, this news completely baffled the others.

“So you're saying… all of this is caused by someone?” Ran asked, after Himari finished her exposition.

“I'm not  _ just  _ saying it,” Himari shook her head, “I saw it myself! And it could be more than someone… she could be working for a group or something!”

A deafening silence followed this exchange, as they let this realization sink into their minds. The fact that this isn't a random occurrence, that someone is cruel enough to mastermind all of this… it shook them to the core.

“So horrible…” Tsugumi whimpered, “just toying with people's lives like it's nothing…”

“They definitely won't get away with this,” said Ran sternly. “Using monsters to bring ruin… I won't forgive them.”

“I know… that's why we're going to put a stop on it together, right?” uttered Himari, looking as determined as ever. “That maid lady trusted us with this power, and now we're going to use it to stop this!”

The others gave nods of approval, mirroring Himari's look of conviction. Each agreeing in their hearts that they will end this, together as one.

**_Ding! Ding!_ **

All of their Skywatches started to emit a loud ringing sound.

“Ah! It's here?!” said Himari with overwhelming urgency, as she clicked on her watch's face. The projected image shows the Eagle Alterion flying in the sky, right above…

“It's up there!!”

As if right on cue, the Alterion hovered before them. Barrels protruded from the sides of its metal wings, unleashing a flurry of energy bullets that scattered the five girls.

“Everyone! Now's our chance to beat them!” Ran shouted, as the five strapped their Skywatch on. “Let's do this!”

“I'm all fired up~!”

“Let's show it who's boss!”

“Ooh… this is so cool! Time to beat it to a pulp!”

“We're going to beat it, and protect everyone!”

They tapped the center of their watches together, setting free the lights from the orbs within.

“ **Sky Change**!”

For the first time, all five of them were engulfed in one coalescing light. As it perished, they are now inside their battle outfits, ready to face the Alterion.

“Ran, try that elemental thing again~!” suggested Moca. “You used fire and water… so you probably have one for wind.”

“Worth a shot,” replied Ran. She outstretched her arm forward, then…

“Bathed in my spirit, **Sunlight Saber**!”

With a radiant flash of light, the red katana came to her palm again. Focusing her mind on the blade, she continued.

“I summon the violent winds! **Element Wind**!”

With a swoosh, the sword's blade engulfed itself in a cyclone. It swerved through the air, before flying towards…

“Eh? EHHH?!”

The cyclone was absorbed by Tomoe's Skywatch, giving the orb inside a brighter glow. 

“Now try your weapon, Tomo-chin!”

“A—ah… alright! **Dusk Beater**!”

Tomoe summoned her long staff, and she suddenly knew exactly what to do. She took the staff apart and split it into two batons.

“Let's go! **Wind Smash**!”

With full power, Tomoe smashed the two batons together, creating a violent gust of wind. It was enough to knock the Alterion off balance and make it fall down.

“Now! Hit it with all ya got!”

The other four didn't waste their chances. Ran charged first and leapt towards the Alterion, landing four slashes in quick succession. 

Himari and Tsugumi followed with a jumping punch, and Moca capped it off by firing a massive energy blast, sending the Alterion crashing into the school grounds below.

The five bent over the rooftop's railing, trying to see if they had finished it off or not. From the looks of it… they have succeeded.

But then… 

“G—guys! It's getting up again!”

The Eagle Alterion rose up from the rubble surrounding it, before turning on its thrusters. It flew to the air, seemingly about to flee again.

And then it was sliced in half.

It took a moment for the five to register what happened— all of a sudden, something just cleaved the Alterion in half, disintegrating it in midair. They scanned the area… and Ran spotted someone.

“That's… that's the one from the concert attack!”

It's just like how she remembered. The figure wore the same outfit as before— purple suit under a black vest. In retrospect, it looked like the inverse of the suits they're currently wearing… but that's besides the point.

The purple figure wielded a rather peculiar weapon. It was a sword, but the blades were segmented and they can extend within command, turning it into a whip. Using that, they managed to reach the Alterion and sliced it down.

The five watched as the purple figure approached the only thing remaining from that Alterion— its Polaris Orb. 

The figure picked it up from the ground, looked at it for a moment, then… they pocketed it and ran off without a second glance.

“H—hey!” Ran tried to shout at them, but it fell on deaf ears.

“That person… took the Orb?” muttered Tsugumi. “What for?”

Nobody gave an answer. The fact that another person with similar powers to them was already befuddling enough, and now that person is taking the orb for themselves instead of destroying it?

Ran couldn't help but sigh. How deep does this mystery go?


	9. The Sky Squadron's Birth

The cold breeze felt perfect for a jog, which is what Ran decided to do this morning. This wasn't something she'd usually do— as remarked by her father when she was about to walk out from the house —but she felt that it would be necessary to keep her physicality in check with all the fighting she's going to do.

It has been four days since the last sighting of an Alterion. Instead of feeling respite, however, Ran was driven anxious by this fact. The first three days were packed with them coming out left and right… then silence. She knew this wasn't the end— far from it, especially now that she knew someone had been controlling their appearances from behind the scenes. There's bound to be one soon… and it's probably going to be stronger than the ones she faced before.

As she turned a block and kept her pace up, her mind went over what she knew and what she didn't about all of this. The mastermind— could be  _ masterminds _ for all she knew —used the Polaris Orbs on people to create Alterions from them. She didn't know the details yet, but she knew that these Polaris Orbs are the Alterions' power source, and that she was advised to destroy them at all costs. For what reason, she didn't know… but if she had to guess, it's most likely because the one pulling the strings might use the Orbs' powers again. To support that theory… there's the enigmatic purple warrior, who stole the Orb instead of destroying them right away. Are they trying to use the Orb's power as well?

And then there's the instigator behind her new powers, that mysterious maid lady. She kept her first explanations vague, and her ways of working were nothing short of eccentric. Why did she choose them as the holders of this power? How does destroying the Orbs benefit her?

Ran took a stop to catch her breath. She realized that she had more questions than answers… while protecting others comes first, she'd love to get at least some closure on them.

**_Ding! Ding!_ **

“Huh…?!”

Her heart skipped a few beats upon hearing that warning tune. Was it another Alterion? She pulled her Skywatch out from the string bag she carried, quickly tapping her finger on the watch's face.

Instead of a feed showing Alterions, however, Ran was greeted by a projection of the maid lady.

_ “GlowRed, I request your presence. Please head to the coordinates I've sent to your Skywatch. I shall explain everything there.” _

The maid lady's face disappeared, replaced with a small map with a dot that showed her the location of where she should go.

“Glow… Red? Did she mean… me?” she muttered to herself. She is the red-colored warrior out of the group, so that's possible. Either way… there's no way she'd send a random message that just so happened to land on her Skywatch. 

Tying her shoelaces, Ran got up and jogged to the designated spot. It fortunately wasn't that far from her— and from all of her friends' houses, now that she thought about it… maybe they're being called too? That's a possibility.

After about seven minutes, Ran had arrived at the designated spot. She immediately noticed a few familiar faces there… as she expected, Tomoe and Tsugumi had already arrived.

“Yo, Ran!” greeted Tomoe with a wave. “Got the call from the maid lady too, huh?”

“Yeah,” Ran nodded, wiping some sweat off her forehead. “That means the rest got that message too.”

“I wonder what's the deal now…” Tsugumi scratched her head, frowning slightly. “It must be very important, that she had to call us out of the blue like this.”

“Somethin' about the Alterions, maybe?” Tomoe suggested. “Ever since the bird one, we haven't seen any of 'em. Maybe they're scheming things behind the scenes and the maid lady knows something.”

“That's what I thought too…”

Ran lets out a sigh, pulling out a water bottle from her sling bag and chugging it down.

“You brought a water bottle…?” Tomoe squinted at her. “What were you doing?”

“Jogging,” Ran replied curtly.

Tomoe immediately furrowed her eyebrows. “Wh— jogging?! you were working out and you didn't even invite me?! Come on, Ran!” 

“...I didn't know you'd want to.”

“Of course I'd want to! To get stronger… that's what we gotta do, right? So we can protect everyone!”

“I—I want to get stronger too!” Tsugumi chipped in. “I don't want to be a burden for the others… so I'm definitely going to work hard too!”

Ran watched the two's eager faces, before a tiny smile snuck onto her lips. 

“Yeah. You're right.”

“Come on, Moca! We're already late!”

“Caaaalm down, Hii-chan~ Moca-chan is feeling super slow this morning…”

The three watched as Moca and Himari slowly arrived at the scene, Moca barely looking awake.

“That's because you slept too late!” Himari scolded her.

“But you're late too, so you overslept as well~”

“Aeh— s, so what…?!”

“Oh, you two!” Tomoe waved at them. “The gang's all here now!”

Moca gazed at the three, seemingly coming to her own conclusion. “Ah~ so we all did get the call…”

Himari frowned. “A call for what, exactly?”

The five turned to their surroundings. This  _ was  _ the spot designated by the Skywatch… but all they saw around them was their usual neighborhood, without anything standing out from the ordinary. 

“Um… guys?”

Tsugumi was the one who brought attention to something— a small white house before them, looking dilapidated and abandoned. The house's fence suddenly slid open by itself, giving way for them to enter.

_ “Come inside,”  _ the maid lady's voice rang. 

Though some of them hesitated for a moment, the girls stepped through the fence and into the front door. Tomoe was the one taking the charge at the front, opening the door and stepping in first. Slowly, the five made their way inside… and they were greeted with a rather surprising sight.

There were no rooms as the outside windows had suggested. In fact, the whole house was bafflingly empty, except for a metallic door right in front of them. The door slid open, revealing what looked to be an elevator.

Without a lot of options, the girls somewhat reluctantly made their way into the elevator. It was moderately-sized, more than enough for the five of them to fit in.

The elevator doors shut close as it made its descent. None of them was able to come up with anything to say, hence the oddly tense atmosphere within. The elevator didn't even make rumbling noises, unlike the ones found in buildings… so everything was quiet.

After a moment of waiting, the elevator's door slid open. The five girls stepped out… and gasped in awe at the sight that greeted them. 

It was an underground cave, spanning so high and vast. Sharp stalactites protruded from the ceiling, which was decorated with a number of bright white lamps. The cave itself contained rows and rows of large electronic boxes— supercomputers, all connecting to a round, table-like object at the center.

“Whoa. This whole place is… below our neighborhood?” Himari muttered, reeling in utter disbelief. It just felt completely bonkers, the fact that something as massive as this was hiding literally beneath their feet.

The girls moved towards the round table… only to realize that it wasn't a table at all— it was a screen capable of projecting holograms, much like their Skywatches. It projected a few strange patterns they didn't recognize, before forming the shape of the maid lady.

“Greetings to all of you, the ones who hold the power,” said the lady, “Now that you've all gathered, I would like to inform all of you about your mission.”

The five girls listened in silence, focusing towards the maid lady's projection.

“As I have mentioned, the monsters you have been fighting thus far are called Alterions. They are powered by Polaris Orbs… orbs that contain the combined essence of an organic force and an inorganic substance,” the lady explained. 

“So that's why they have animal shapes with strange parts…” mumbled Tsugumi. 

“We found out that these Polaris Orbs are actually someone's creations,” Ran spoke clearly. “Is that true?”

“Yes,” the lady replied. “I see that you have figured that out… that should simplify my explanations.”

“That means… someone's actually trying to hurt other people with the Alterions? Tch, so mean…” uttered Tomoe, clenching her fists tightly.

“That 'someone' created the Polaris Orbs to gain power. Unfortunately for them, the Polaris Orbs they created were still impure. It needs to be processed before it can unleash its full power… by inserting it into a human vessel, the Polaris Orbs will turn to a manifestation of the essences— the Alterions you have been fighting. 

In the process of that, the Polaris Orb will be purified, and can be extracted by destroying the Alterion.”

“And that's why you've told us to destroy the orbs after we defeat them?” asked Ran, slowly connecting the dots within her mind.

The maid lady nodded. “It would be disastrous if we leave it be. The creator would get exactly what they wanted if you don't destroy them— purified Polaris Orbs, containing immense powers that even the Skywatches won't be able to stop.”

Everyone fell into silence, taking in the explanation the maid lady has given to them. The creator of these Polaris Orbs… whoever they are, they needed to be stopped before they could obtain that level of power.

This time, Himari was the first to ask. “Do you know anything about that creator? Like, their identities?” 

“No, but I am looking into it,” said the maid lady. “For now, I need you to focus on defeating the Alterions and destroying the Polaris Orbs. If you keep that up… they might take matters into their own hands.”

“Keep foiling their plans until they show up themselves, huh? Sounds good to me,” Tomoe commented with a grin.

“That's the best we can do for now,” Tsugumi agreed.

“Hmm… I hope it won't take long~” said Moca.

It won't be long, Ran thought to herself. If everything goes smoothly and they keep destroying the Polaris Orbs from the Alterions they have defeated, there would be no problem at a—

But they haven't destroyed all of them. They have left some of them stolen by someone else.

“...um, maid lady—”

“Call me Himiko for now,” said the lady. “I apologize, the thought of introducing myself had lapsed through my mind all this time.”

“Right. Himiko,” Ran began, “I saw someone with similar powers to us… they wore a purple suit, and we don't know their identities. But they stole one of the Polaris Orbs without destroying it… any idea who?”

Himiko made a strangely out-of-place smile upon hearing those words. “Ah. So they have made their move after all…”

“Wh—what…?” Ran stammered.

“Nevermind. You will meet them all soon, so I'll save the explanations for later.”

The five of them had no idea what Himiko meant by that, but she looked like she's not going to answer their questions no matter how hard they tried. Thus…

“Um, Himiko-san… another question,” Tsugumi raised her hand slightly. “We've also fought against monsters that looked like shadows. Are those Alterions… or something different?”

“Ah, I haven't mentioned that…” Himiko cleared her throat. “Those monsters are called **Magnites**. With the Polaris Orbs exerting a lot of power… it will create a ton of residue, and these Magnites are those residues. They are simply mindless husks that are attracted by a Polaris Orb's power, working at the Alterion's side to reconnect with that power.”

“So they're like mooks working for the big bad, huh~” Moca uttered.

“Indeed. They may not be as dangerous as the Alterions, but you should always exercise caution when encountering them.”

“Exercising caution is important regardless,” Ran added. “So… that's all you have to say to us, Himiko?”

“One more thing,” said Himiko, “your designations. You may have noticed that I had called you not by name before.”

“Oh yeah, you called me GlowPink or something… what's up with that?” asked Himari.

“With the creator of the Polaris Orbs watching, having your true identities exposed at all times would be risky.”

“Hmm, that's right… especially with how the Lizard Alterion attacked my house and the two other Alterions chasing Himari, having our identities known would be pretty bad,” affirmed Tomoe, recalling that particularly insane night. “Who knows… they might attack our families too if we're too out in the open.”

“That's why, when you are transformed, you are to refer to your designated names based on your suit color,” Himiko went on. “Mitake Ran, you will be GlowRed. 

Aoba Moca, GlowBlue. 

Udagawa Tomoe, GlowGreen.

Uehara Himari, GlowPink.

Lastly… Tsugumi Hazawa, you will be GlowYellow.”

“Wow, we're even getting aliases~” Moca giggled. “This really feels like a magical girl manga…”

“As a unit, your designation will be this.”

Another projection emerged right beside Himiko's hologram. It was a text that once read aloud, said…

**_Sora Sentai Glowranger._ **

* * *

“Man, talk about an info dump… and there's still a lot of stuff I don't understand after all of that!” Tomoe complained, as the five stepped out from the house that led them to that underground cave. The sun had already reached its apex at this point— no more of that cold morning weather greeting them.

“That's probably because Himiko is still keeping some stuff from us! Ugh, why didn't she just tell us right away instead of being cryptic like that?” Himari groaned.

“Well… at least there is a lot of stuff we can confirm now!” said Tsugumi, trying to uplift the mood. “There really is someone behind all of this, and now we know exactly what their motive is!”

Moca pinched her chin, thinking over their recent discoveries. “Hmm… whoever that person is, they're really cruel~ Hurting other people as means to get stronger is definitely not okay~”

“Definitely,” Tomoe agreed. “Well— even without knowing what's behind the scenes, we still gotta do our job and protect people.”

Ran gave a nod of agreement. “We're the only ones who can do it, after all.”

“Hmhm~ That's the spirit, Ran~” teased Moca with a slight smirk. “I heard from Tomo-chin that you were working out this morning, hmm?”

“N—nothing wrong with that,” Ran retorted, though there were slight hues on her cheeks as she said so.

“Yup, nothing wrong~” Moca laughed cheekily. “You know, I'd work out too… but that would be too tiring for me.”

“You'd probably cancel all of that working out by stuffing a lot of bread…” said Tomoe with a rather strained smile.

“Same goes to you with ramen, Tomo-chin~”

“Hey— at least ramen is made for proper dining!”

“Every food is made for proper dining if you're creative enough~”

“I don't think that's right at all, Moca-chan…” said Tsugumi, scratching her cheek.

“Geez. You guys haven't even started working out yet and you're already talking about food,” Ran complained.

“Shuddup! You got a head start on that, you know! No fair!” Tomoe bit back, frowning sharply.

“And who said that I'm actually going to work out~?” added Moca.

“What?!”

That certainly startled the rest of them… all eyes are set on Himari, who kept hers pried onto her phone's screen. She looked horrified for some reason…

“What's wrong, Himari?” asked Tomoe, squinting to see what's on the screen.

Himari took a gulp. “So… uh, guys… I hate to always be the bad news bear, but…”

“But what?” Ran pressed on. Another terrible news? Was it another casualty? 

“Just… see for yourself…!”

Not being able to say it aloud, Himari thrusted her phone's screen to the others. 

And it didn't take long before they all collectively gasped.

“Roselia's… disbanding?!”

* * *

_ “—and I'm trusting all of this to you, Yukina.” _

Yukina had lost count at how many times she had played that clip on her father's laptop. The only thing left binding her with her father, after all that has happened.

Well… actually, it wasn't the only thing.

Sitting in front of her desk, Yukina glanced over at the thing beside that laptop. It was a metallic briefcase, closed shut with a fingerprint scanner lock. She had never seen anything like this in her entire life— especially not under her father's possession. So the fact that it just turned up here… was very ominous.

“Yukina, I've sent the news already.”

The silver-haired girl turned to see Lisa, entering her room with a somewhat strained expression.

“Most people didn't like that decision… are you sure about this, Yukina?” she asked. “We could've just announced a hiatus.”

“A hiatus means that we're still maintaining the quality of our sound and giving people hope that we'll come back shortly,” said Yukina. “We can't have both of that… at least, I can't, with all of these new responsibilities.”

She lifted her right hand to level with her face… and a purple watch perched on her wrist.

“I told you, I'm joining t—” Lisa persisted, but Yukina lifted a finger to stop her.

“Save your answer for later. I really need all of you to think this over as seriously as you can.”

Ignoring Lisa's disgruntled sighs, Yukina pressed her thumb against the fingerprint scanner. The briefcase swung open at once… revealing four other color-coded watches within them.


	10. Devotion to the Roses

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Roselia time!! Took a while to get here but things are gonna get saucier now

It was the first time Yukina had stepped foot on school since the incident on her Live… and the following announcement of Roselia's disbandment. Obviously, along with news of the monster attacks, this would be the talk on the school as she could feel people gossiping wherever she's not looking. Some even approached her… only to be met with her cold rejection.

It was rough, to say the least. Not to mention the slog of getting through school lessons themselves… Yukina wanted to get out of here as quickly as possible, so that she could fully get down to her real business.

Finally, after a day's worth of being looked at and talked about like a mystical object belonging to a museum, the final bell rang. Yukina exhaled deeply, hoping there would be no interruptions on the way home.

“Yukina!” Lisa called, approaching her desk. “Ready to go?”

Yukina curtly nodded, grabbing her bag and getting up from her seat. She was ready the moment she stepped into this school… 

The two walked side by side out from the class and into the front gates, passing through some onlookers as they went by. Yukina was slowly getting accustomed to all the funny looks thrown at her— being a vocalist helped in that regard —but it was still irritating nonetheless.

“I lost count of how many people asking me about Roselia today,” said Lisa with a somewhat anguished smile. “To be fair, some of them are really concerned about you.”

“That is unsurprising,” Yukina uttered, “with the news of my father's passing and the disbandment of Roselia, people would be concerned.”

“Well… if you put it that way, then that's good! That means everyone cares about you, Yukina.”

“Hmm…”

As always, Yukina's expression was difficult to read. She didn't look too appalled, nor bemused. For her, the situation was more complicated than getting sympathy due to all the misfortune that befell on her… none of these people knew about the truth, except for her band members.

Well, until all of this is over… _ex_ -band members.

“You know… I still really think it would be better if we just announced a hiatus,” Lisa spoke again. “Most people understood what's probably the reason… but they still sound disappointed when they asked me.”

“And as I told you already, saying that would mean we're giving them the expectation for us to return…” Yukina insisted. “I'm not saying that we won't… but who knows how long will I be doing this?”

“How long will _we_ be doing this,” corrected Lisa, which was met by Yukina's dissatisfied click of her tongue.

“...I don't want to put you in danger. Any of you.”

“Then why did your dad leave four more of those watches?”

“That's…”

Yukina couldn't come up with any rebuttal, and Lisa took advantage of that.

“Because your dad wouldn't want you to do this alone, Yukina.”

“...but he did it alone,” Yukina persisted. 

“That's because he _had_ to, Yukina. You don't have to do this alone… we're here with you,” said Lisa. “Just because we're no longer playing a band, doesn't mean we're gonna ignore you.”

Yukina sighed in defeat. There's no way she could change Lisa's mind with just words… or anyone else's in Roselia, for that matter. Still, even though she said that it's up to their decision should they want to follow her or not… she didn't want to see them in danger.

“Besides, how hard can it be? If you can do it, then I bet we all can do it~” Lisa capped it off, smiling smugly.

“...this is serious, Lisa. If you really intend to join me, then—”

“Minato-san!”

As the two were just leaving the school perimeter, Yukina's worst fears were realized. Ran looked as if she was waiting for them to pass, finally running towards them as they went by.

Out of all the people she didn't want to meet at school, Ran was on the top of the list. Yukina would rather survive another hour of being looked at funny than being questioned by the girl she considered as a rival… because at this point, there's no way she'd be able to explain her decision properly without telling the full story.

“Ran? What's wrong?” asked Lisa, though she herself also knew what's coming.

“"What's wrong"? Roselia disbanding is wrong!” said Ran fiercely. “What's the deal with that, you two?!”

“C—calm down, Ran… we can give you an explana—”

“—It's because I do not want to endanger my band members.”

Yukina cut through Lisa's words, slowly stepping forward with a rather stern expression.

“I understand that, but… disbanding? That's too much…” Ran bit her lip, looking anguished. It was as if Afterglow was the one that got disbanded.

“We've agreed to this already,” said Yukina, loosening herself up a little. “We have separate responsibilities outside Roselia… and if we carry on, we wouldn't be able to deliver the sound we'd be satisfied with.” 

“But you guys will make a comeback, right?”

“I… can't answer that,” Yukina replied, somberly casting her gaze aside.

“What do you mean by that?!” Ran yelled, her frustration rearing its ugly head again. “Minato-san, your goal with Roselia is reaching for the top… so once you got there, you just called it quits?!”

“No—”

“So why must you stop performing?! After all of your efforts in Future World Fes, you're just going to stop?!”

“That's not the reason, Mitake-san…!”

“Then what?! I know losing him was hard for you, but this is not what your dad would've want—” 

**_“THAT'S ENOUGH!”_ **

The shout came from her mouth before she could realize it. Yukina was usually not the type to crack… but she did now, thanks to Ran's unending pressure. 

“What do you know about my father's desires, Mitake-san?!” Yukina went on, not letting her anger up. “You know nothing!! It's my responsibility to carry on his task, and yet you're here telling me to ignore that responsibility?!”

Ran herself was completely at a loss. She had never seen Yukina this livid before… and it's her fault. “I—I didn't mean to—”

“Alright, that's enough, Yukina!” said Lisa, trying to act calm as she stepped between the two. “I'm pretty sure Ran was just expressing her concern, no need to be so worked up about that!”

For a moment, Yukina kept a glare at Ran. Fortunately, she managed to regain her composure, returning to her usual state.

“...I have chosen my path, Mitake-san,” she said coldly, “and this is where it leads me..”

Without another word, Yukina strode off.

“W—wait, Yukina!” Lisa called, but Yukina already walked far from her. She heaved a sigh and turned to Ran… who looked completely mortified.

“I shouldn't have said that… I'm an idiot,” she cursed under her breath.

“Don't say that,” uttered Lisa, patting Ran on the shoulder. “I think Yukina definitely knows that you mean well… it's just, the past week has been really tough on her.”

“Obviously… and I just had to interfere and make her day worse.”

“You could've been a little more eloquent about it… still, I knew she'd appreciate your concern regardless.”

Lisa took a pause for a moment, thinking over what she should say next.

“But if I were you… I wouldn't bring the whole 'disbanding' thing up again,” she continued. “Even though we're not Roselia anymore, we're still going to take care of Yukina… so don't you worry about that.”

“I suppose so…”

Ran lets out a long sigh, turning to Lisa. She still looked very devastated…

“I'm sorry I've made things harder for you, Lisa-san.”

“It's okay!” Lisa replied with a smile. “I get your concern too. I'll try to help her… for both of us, alright?”

“Um… alright. Thank you.”

“Now then… I gotta catch up with Yukina,” said Lisa, waving her hand as she departed. “See ya, Ran!”

* * *

“Lisa. You're late.”

“That's because you ran off when Ran came along…”

The two are now in front of Yukina's residence— not just them, but also the rest of Roselia, all had been waiting for Yukina and Lisa to arrive.

Yukina bit her lip after hearing those words. “Was she okay? I might have been too harsh on her…” 

“It's fine, I reassured her that you're alright,” Lisa replied, before moving on to another subject. “Nothing's happening in Hanasakigawa?” 

“A lot of club activities have been delayed thanks to the attacks, so there weren't that many files to be approved,” Sayo replied, as serious as ever. 

Lisa nodded a few times. “Same can be said with Haneoka… especially since it got attacked.”

“The day after the Live…” Ako muttered somberly. “I know monsters are quite neat, but they're so evil…”

“But because of that night, we know exactly the task my father had been carrying these past few years,” said Yukina, not a trace of sadness reflected off her face. “And now… he entrusted these to us so that we can continue that task in his stead.”

Yukina raised a briefcase for the others to see. She opened the lid, revealing four color-coded watches inside.

“From the files my father left me, these are called **Landwatches**. They contain enough powers to defeat the monsters that have been appearing— those monsters are called **Alterions**.”

The rest of Roselia listened intently as Yukina gave her explanation. It really seemed out of this world, everything Yukina said… but they had witnessed it firsthand, so there's absolutely no way they could debunk it.

“Our mission is to gather an object powering these Alterions, called the **Polaris Orbs**. By gathering enough of these orbs… we'll have the power to change reality, deleting the existence of the Alterions and returning my father to safety.”

“Your dad… he's still alive, right?” Lisa cropped up.

“Yes. I'm sure of it.”

“Then… we have to help him…” muttered Rinko.

“It won't be an easy task,” said Yukina. “For today, I will show you just how difficult it is… and then if you'd still like to join me, I will accept.”

“Huh? Yukina, come on! We've told you, we're gonna join you no matter what!” Lisa barked, getting back on her offense again.

Yukina sighed. “I don't want all of you to jump into something so dangerous without tempering your expectations first. I promise… if you still insist on joining me after my demonstration, I won't block your path.”

“And what _is_ this demonstration, Minato-san?” asked Sayo, a slight frown of impatience on her lips.

Yukina didn't answer immediately— she closed the briefcase and handed it over to Lisa, before showing a purple Landwatch already strapped onto her wrist. A small sphere inside the watch was flashing, accompanied with a faint beeping noise.

“ **Land Change**.”

Yukina spun the outer ring of her watch, and it emitted a blaze of purple light that swallowed her body whole. The light died down… and Yukina was now wearing a purple skin-tight suit, underneath a black vest with silver rims and accents. There was a small purple gemstone adorning the right side on her vest.

The rest of Roselia were left stunned by this sudden transformation. They watched as Yukina, under her battle suit, stepped forward and disregarded their reactions.

“Follow me.”

* * *

“Ran-chan, to your left!”

With a swift motion, Ran sliced down two Magnites jumping towards her. More came her way, but Tsugumi swooped in and slashed them away.

“Yellow! Didn't you remember about the codenames?” reprimanded Ran.

“Ah— right... sorry, Red!”

Meanwhile, Moca kept her blaster trained on her target in the sky, moving at a blindingly fast speed.

“ **Element Water**! **Seeker Bullets**!”

She unloaded two jets of highly compressed water streams, but her target easily flashed out from existence and let the bullets whizz through. It reemerged soon after, still hovering above them.

“I can't hit it…” Moca groaned.

The Alterion descended a little, its figure now clearer to view. It was like a humanoid butterfly, with two blue wings protruding on its back. There were two lamp-like spheres protruding on each wing and emitting a bright blue light, with one more light sphere located on the top of its head.

“I'll try this!” Tomoe shouted, separating her staff into two batons. “ **Element Wind**! **Cyclone Smash**!”

She clapped her batons together, creating a shockwave of wind directed towards the Butterfly Alterion. However, it once again disappeared in a flash of light, completely evading the wind attack and reappearing behind them.

“What the heck _is_ that thing?!” Himari furiously yelled, punching down three Magnites getting in her way. “How can it phase in and out from attacks like that?!”

“It must be manipulating light somehow… explains those lamps bulging out from 'em,” Moca deducted. “Ran, do you have any element that has to do with light?”

“I don't know…” Ran muttered, glancing over her sword and trying to recall something— anything that her Skywatch had provided her with. “Oh, yeah! Maybe I can try thi—”

The Butterfly Alterion's head suddenly flashed so brightly, their vision was completely obscured.

Amidst the flash, it flew towards Ran and about to ram her… but something made it stop midway, and ceased the blinding light. Ran turned to see the Alterion, slumped on the ground. One of its wings was sliced off, the light spheres on it dimming away. 

She heard footsteps coming from the right, and metals sizzling and clanking. At once, the five girls turned to see… 

“You…!”

Yukina, inside her suit, approached the Alterion. She ignored the presence of the Glowrangers, as if they're not even there. The Alterion stood up and disappeared in a flash of light, stopping her from proceeding.

“Who are you?!” Ran yelled, but Yukina still paid no mind to her. Instead, she glanced at the **Sunlight Saber** she held.

“You were about to do something, right? You better do it before it escapes,” she spoke coldly.

“Tch—” 

Refraining a dozen curses from rolling off her tongue, Ran focused all of her mind onto her sword.

“Pierce through the skies! **Element Thunder**!”

She raised her sword to the sky. The blade released a bolt of thunder that shot up, before descending to… 

“Whoa—!”

Tsugumi's **Star Spear** was now loaded with that thunder bolt, its tip shrouded by zaps of electricity.

“So it's me, huh…? Alright!” she shouted confidently, before stabbing her spear to the ground, causing an electric surge all around her.

One of the bolts managed to come in contact with the Butterfly Alterion, causing its body to reappear.

“So it manipulates light to hide itself…” muttered Tsugumi. “It's open to attack, guys! Go, go!”

With her sword raised, Ran dashed as fast as she could towards the Alterion… but Yukina whizzed past her, using her flail-sword as a grappling hook to pull herself towards it. Once she's close, Yukina slashed down the Alterion a few times, causing it to explode. Her empty hand swooped in to grab the Polaris Orb left behind, before she landed on the ground safely.

“Hey!!” Ran shouted, pointing her blade towards Yukina. “I don't know what you're planning to do with that, but stop it!”

Yukina cursed under her breath, tightly gripping the Polaris Orb in her hand. She watched as the five Glowrangers gathered around her, their weapons raised.

“Why should I?” she spoke clearly, “it is my mission to, and you have no business interfering with it.”

“Your mission?! Don't make me laugh!” shouted Ran. “Those Orbs had caused nothing but suffering to everyone— and we're not going to let anyone use their powers!” 

“...what a close-minded way to think.”

“The hell d'ya say?!” Tomoe roared, edging closer and closer towards Yukina. “No matter how you slice it, those Orbs should belong to no one!”

Heaving a long sigh, Yukina tensed the grip on her flail-sword. “Hmph, I don't expect you all to understand. The Polaris Orbs contains powers not just to destroy… but to change the world as well.”

Tsugumi froze for a moment. “Change… the world…?” 

“Yeah— change the world for the worse, most likely,” Ran spat. “We don't care about the world changing… we are going to keep it the same as always, no matter what!”

“Same as always…”

For a moment, Yukina's defenses were lowered. Obviously, those words reminded her of someone…

“...and I'm fighting for this world to change,” she spoke again, immediately coming back to her senses. “So please, do me a favor.”

“What?!”

“Don't get in my way.”

But Ran didn't listen. She charged towards Yukina… but Yukina smashed the ground with her flail-sword, causing an explosion between them. Ran had to stop, and by the time the smoke died down… Yukina had vanished from sight.

“Tch… we _will_ get in your way, you freak! We will stop you!!” 

Ran knew that her claims would fall into deaf ears… but she didn't care. Any chance that the purple suit girl could hear her… she would take that chance.

* * *

“Y—Yukina…!”

Still inside her purple suit, Yukina approached the four other members of Roselia. As she had expected… their faces looked different compared to what Yukina saw minutes prior. They all looked mesmerized— with a hint of fear that she could spot.

Reverting back to her normal form, she turned to each and every one of them.

“Now that I have tempered your expectations, I can finally ask you this question. You _must_ answer it without doubt, without fear and without hesitation,” she declared, as serious as she could be.

_“Are you willing to fully devote yourself to become a Roseranger?”_


	11. A Regressing Rhodonite

What an odd sight to witness.

Cars, vending machines, sewer lids… all suspended in midair, floating like a balloon. It might be hard, but Yukina had accepted this absurd sight as part of her reality.

Running through a street filled with these floating objects, she paid no mind of them and focused on what's ahead— what's causing all of this to happen. 

“Yukina!”

She stopped for a moment, turning around to see Lisa coming from behind. Though she could sense a hint of nervousness from her, she looked determined as ever.

“I'm going with you too!” she declared, lifting her hand to show her a red-colored Landwatch strapped on her wrist. “I've trained to use it, so I'm ready!”

“Very well,” Yukina replied curtly, her eyes returning to her enemy just ahead. “Let us begin, then.”

“Yeah!”

The two pressed the watch's face, letting a bright light loose from the orb inside.

“ **Land Change**!”

Spinning the outer ring of their watches, Yukina and Lisa transformed into their battle forms. Lisa's battle suit was dominantly scarlet instead of purple, with a red gemstone on her chest to match.

“You are now Rose Rhodonite,” said Yukina. “Refer to yourself as such, and refer to me as Rose Amethyst.”

“Got it, Amethyst!” Lisa nodded. She would've joked about the funny nicknames… but she's way too nervous to do so. 

The two headed off, through the floating wreckage and debris. Lisa couldn't help but look at them, fearing that they might fall at any given moment. It really felt like it came straight out from her fever dream… when she thought about it, everything that happened this past week did seem like a dream. The concert incident, Yukina's father disappearing, and now Yukina inheriting some power she had never even heard of before. It felt like a whiplash when compared to her activities in the past…

“There it is.”

Yukina's words broke Lisa out from her thoughts, as they finally spotted their target.

“That's the… Alterion, right?” Lisa asked. 

Yukina simply gave a nod, her eyes set on the foe. This Alterion took the form of a lobster-like creature, with a hard shell and a pair of big pincers… and legs protruding from the tail. Its shell was half red and half blue, its color splitting at the very center of its body.

The Lobster Alterion spotted the two and immediately swung its pincers, sending two vending machines flying their way.

“Whoa!” Lisa yelped. While Yukina gracefully leapt over the machines, she awkwardly tumbled to the side to avoid them. 

“ **Amethyst Cutter**!” shouted Yukina as she made her descent towards the Alterion, summoning the whip-sword onto her hand. She dropped down with a whip strike towards the Alterion, but the blade bounced off its thick shell. The Lobster Alterion retaliated with sending a bunch of metallic objects falling her way, forcing Yukina to back off quickly.

“Yuki— I mean, Amethyst! I'll help!” Lisa yelled at her, before shaking off her fears and running towards the Alterion. “ **Rhodonium Blocker**!”

A large, kite-shaped shield emerged on her right hand. She pushed it forward, crashing herself into the Alterion's body. It worked, as the Alterion was knocked back a few feet with cracks on its shell where Lisa had rammed her.

“Yes! I got it!” Lisa cheered, overjoyed that she got the first hit.

“Rhodonite! Watch out!” 

“Huh— uagh!”

Before she could even register Yukina's words, she felt something blunt smacking the back of her head, causing her to tumble over and fall. She wasn't even given the chance to get up, as she felt something heavy pinning her body to the ground. Gasping for breath, Lisa could feel this heavy object slowly crushing her body— had it not for her suit, she would've already turned into a sandwich.

Yukina came to her aid at once, slicing off the thing that's crushing Lisa— which turned out to be piles of metal scaffolding —and pulling her out from there. The two watched as the Lobster Alterion magnetized a few plates of metal from the hood of a car, melding it with its shell… and all of the cracks Lisa's attack had made disappeared.

“N—no way…!” Lisa yelped, frantically turning to Yukina. “How are we supposed to beat it…?!”

Maintaining her cool, Yukina tightened the grip on her sword. “From my father's files… we have to break its shell and attack the inner body before it can recover.”

Lisa gawked at her. “And you didn't even consider telling me that before?!”

“I thought it was obvious,” Yukina hissed back, getting on the defensive.

“Yukina… we're trying to work as a team here! We need to synergize!”

“Use the codenames.”

“Right! Amethyst!” Lisa pressed on. “Verbal communication is important! This isn't a stage— you can't go by with just gestures and non-verbal stuff!”

“Rhodonite, this isn't the time to talk about this…”

“This _is_ the time to talk about it! We're not going to last long if we—”

A car came flying their way without them noticing, ramming onto both of them and sending them crashing into a building. It looks like the Lobster Alterion has had enough watching the two argue…

Both Yukina and Lisa fell to the ground, dust and debris all over their suits. If being hit by a car was that painful… they would rather not experience it again.

The Lobster Alterion didn't let up— it fragmented the car into several small lumps of metal, pelting them towards the two at a rapid rate. The pair, still struggling to get up, tried defending themselves from the onslaught— Lisa raising her shield, while Yukina tried to slice off as many metal lumps as she could. Their defenses were broken through, however… and they received a couple dozen lumps of metal straight at their faces and bodies. The two collapsed to the ground again, helplessly trying to get up as the Lobster Alterion approached them to finish them off.

However…

“ **Element Fire**! **Burning Slash**!”

A wave of fire came crashing into the Lobster Alterion, pushing it back a few feet. Yukina, struggling to her feet, spotted the squadron of five she encountered before… the ones trying to prevent her from achieving her mission.

“Glowrangers! Go, go!” 

“Better finish this off quickly, I'm gonna be late for my part time job~”

“You're still thinking about that?!”

Amidst their battle, they seemed to not notice Yukina and Lisa's presence. Yukina was about to lift her sword and reenter the fight… but she crumpled down, feeling the pain and exhaustion that had been piling up all this time. This isn't good… she's not quite used to fighting for long stretches of time, and now her inexperience came back to bite her.

“Yukina…” Lisa tugged her arm. She was barely capable of getting up herself. “Let's get out of here for now.”

“But the Orb—”

“You won't be able to collect any more Orbs if you force yourself like this!”

Yukina fell silent for a moment, before bitterly admitting her defeat. The two got up and limped away from sight, leaving the Lobster Alterion to those Glowrangers.

* * *

“Ow, ow ow ow…”

The two had retreated to Yukina's residence. Lisa had just finished patching up a rather large bruise on her back. 

“That's not gonna go away for a while…” she clicked her tongue in irritation upon seeing the large bandage plastered on her back, before lowering her shirt. “How are your wounds, Yukina?”

Sitting on her bed, Yukina frowned and turned her face away, much to Lisa's dismay. Truthfully, she didn't have any significant injuries on her— just a couple of bruises here and there… the suit's defensive capabilities are astounding, Lisa thought to herself. Now if only it also suppressed the pain…

“Heeey? Yukina! Come on, you're still angry about before?” 

“Yes, I do,” Yukina answered coldly.

Lisa lets out a groan. “Geez, talk about harsh… we didn't know it was going to be that difficult, you know?”

“We _did._ ”

Yukina stood up almost immediately, her face turned back at Lisa. She looked overwhelmingly stern… last time Lisa had seen her like this was during the clash within their band.

“You disregarded all of my warnings and ended up getting hurt. I've told you already, you need to accept this responsibility seriously.”

“But I _am_ taking this seriously!” argued Lisa. “I took the watch and fought with you… wasn't that serious enough?!”

“You're only fighting with me just so that you can be at my side. Not because you want to accomplish the mission my father left me.”

Those words shut Lisa down to silence. Even when she didn't want to admit it… Yukina was right on the money. Lisa suddenly felt like she regressed back a year— back to when Roselia first started… back when the only person she cared about was Yukina.

Her eyes fell on the floor, unable to utter a single word. Yukina, on the other hand… didn't let up with her harshness.

“But because of that, you ended up getting in my way… and in the way of my mission.”

“I didn't mean to—!” Lisa spat out. “What *if* I fought just so that I can be by your side?! You're… you're suffering so much, with all of this burden… I don't want you to shoulder it yourself…!”

“Then you don't deserve to use that Landwatch,” said Yukina, her icy glare stabbing Lisa's heart. “My suffering doesn't compare to the suffering of everyone else who lost their loved ones to that Alterion… or the ones before it. My father might not be here… but I have this power to fight back and continue his mission, so that no one will suffer anymore. That's why I'm doing this... not just for my father, but for everyone.”

Lisa's eyes widened upon hearing those words… and the strong determination oozing from it.

“If you only care about my suffering and not everyone else's… then you shouldn't fight alongside me.”

Yukina walked out from her own room, leaving Lisa alone in her thoughts. 

“Not just… yours…?”

Lisa was completely rooted to the spot, her body trembling. After hearing all of that… she felt like she was the dumbest, most egoistic person on Earth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I may have laughed embarassingly loud at the Resident Evil reference... if you can spot it then good on you


	12. Selfless Selfishness

_“I will! Even though what you did looked scary… I want to help you carry your dad's mission, Yukina!”_

Those words kept repeating in her mind— the words she said after seeing Yukina fight for the first time, when she finally offered the band a chance to join her in her quest. Lisa was the first one who accepted her offer, and really meant it when she said she wanted to help Yukina with her mission… but that's only because she wanted to be at Yukina's side no matter what. Unfortunately, Yukina realized that and pointed it out to her… 

_“If you only care about my suffering and not everyone else's… then you shouldn't fight alongside me.”_

That was scathingly true. She only wanted to be at Yukina's side, without even knowing— nor caring —about Yukina's own intentions. She never considered the other lives that had been lost, or the suffering that Yukina's desperately trying to stop with the powers given to her.

Lisa's determination to be at her side was justified… at least, she thought it was. Seeing Yukina in the middle of battle, risking her neck to carry her dad's mission… it made her afraid. Not because she'd have to risk her own neck if she fought, but because she's afraid of anything terrible that might happen to Yukina because they're fighting. Worrying about someone's life isn't wrong, right?

“...but then, I'm just worrying about her again,” Lisa muttered. “I do want to protect everyone, too… not just her.”

Yet she couldn't find the resolve to do so. It really felt like she went back a year… like she hadn't improved as a person at all. 

“What should I do…?”

Lisa ran her hand across her head, ruffling it in frustration. 

“...eh? Lisa-san? Hello~”

“Uwah!”

Her thoughts immediately broke apart when Moca came to her attention, yanking her back to reality— to the part-time shift she took on the convenience store she's usually working on. Moca, wearing the same uniform as her, glanced at her from across the cash register with a slight intrigue plastered on her face.

“Moca?!” Lisa furrowed her eyebrows. “I thought your shift was yesterday?”

“I missed out on it, so I had to fill in today in exchange~” replied Moca. “Nevermind that— you looked really gloomy, Lisa-san.”

“That—”

The cat got Lisa's tongue. She didn't know exactly how to answer this… because the matter at hand wasn't something she should discuss with Moca. Still, this bread-loving girl was as good as Lisa was at reading other people… so she couldn't just dodge the question with a 'no'. 

“Yeah…” she admitted, casting a glance to the side. “It's something to do with Yukina…” 

Moca nodded understandingly. “Ah~ I heard she got really angry at Ran. She's still worried that she made Yukina-san mad~” 

“Gosh, she still is?” asked Lisa, pursing her lips. “I told her it will be fine… Yukina felt bad too, you know.”

“Really? Well, Ran is the type to overthink things~” said Moca, before moving to the back of the cashier where Lisa was. “Is that what made you sad, Lisa-san?”

“No… and I'm not sad!” Lisa denied. “I'm just… worried.”

“About Yukina-san?”

Without saying a word, Lisa gave a nod. She tugged her earlobe uncomfortably, trying to gauge what she can and can't say to Moca about it.

“...I guess Yukina-san is really affected by her dad passing away, huh?” Moca asked, starting to get concerned over this.

“Hmm… yeah,” replied Lisa, though this couldn't be further from the truth. “But he left Yukina with something to do, so she's not as fussed as before.”

“Something… to do?”

“Something… important. She didn't tell me what,” Lisa lied again, though she didn't have a lot of options at the moment. “But it's important enough that Roselia had to stop performing because of it.”

“I see… and you're worried about that thing, Lisa-san?”

Lisa nodded again. From the looks of it, Moca seems to be buying her story— even though it was twisted somewhat.

“Hmm~” Moca placed a finger on her own cheek, thinking about what to say herself. “I can sorta relate to that~”

“Eh?” Lisa turned immediately to her. “How so?”

“Ran is also in the middle of something important outside of the band~ Can't really tell you what, though~”

“O—oh… I see…”

This was news to Lisa, and although Moca kept her cards as close to her chest almost as much as Lisa was… from Moca's words, she knew that whatever Ran was doing was pretty important— maybe not 'save the world' levels of importance as Yukina's mission… or maybe it is, who knows.

“Yeah~ I was really worried about Ran doing that thing at first,” Moca went on. “I got really scared that she might get hurt doing it… because she was the only one doing that thing at the time.”

“That's… both vague and specific at the same time,” said Lisa.

“If I tell the full story, Ran will eat me alive~” Moca replied with a shrug.

For once, Lisa let out a chuckle. “I get it, though. You're worrying about your best friend, the same way I do… there's nothing wrong with that, right?”

“Well… no,” Moca shook her head. “But I _thought_ I was worrying about her at first… then I figured out that I was worrying more about myself.”

Lisa blinked. “Worrying about… yourself?”

“Hmhm, something like that~” replied Moca. “You know how I used to tell you that I'm scared that Ran might leave me behind every time I felt she changed?”

“You still do occasionally.”

Moca puffed her cheeks. “Not funny, Lisa-san…”

“Ahaha! Kidding, kidding!” Lisa waved her hands. “But… I'm guessing you feel that way again when you found out Ran was doing that important thing?”

“Pretty much…” Moca replied with a resigned tone, “If I have to speak from experience, though… I do think the same is happening to you, Lisa-san.” 

“Huh… you think so?”

“Yup~ Be honest with yourself— you're kinda scared that you might lose sight of Yukina-san, right?”

Lisa thought about that for a moment. If she's being honest with herself… yes, she was afraid of being left behind by Yukina again. After all, Roselia was the one that bonded Lisa with her after such a long time… so when Roselia disbanded, it made her fear she might lose Yukina too. So much so that she took the first opportunity to form another link with her, in the form of being a Roseranger.

“...I guess I do, yeah,” she admitted. “With Roselia gone, I'm worried that I'll lose the bond I've worked so hard to repair with it… in the end, I'm the same as I was a year ago— only caring about Yukina without doing anything about it.”

“Then do something about it, Lisa-san~” Moca responded. “For me, I stuck by Ran's side regardless if I felt left behind or not. Because even if I do… Ran would always insist for me to be at her side, that she really needed me to stay ahead.”

“Huh… I remembered you telling me that.”

“Yuh-huh, and I'm pretty sure Yukina-san feels the same way about you. They're not the type to outright express their feelings, but… I'm pretty sure Yukina-san would want you to stick by her side, with or without Roselia~” 

Lisa pondered about what Moca said, her eyes darted to the floor. Moca lets out a chuckle, gently patting her part-time partner on the shoulder.

“You think so…? You don't think I'm just acting selfish that way?”

“Of course~ Yukina-san would need her Lisa-san, just like Ran needed her Moca-chan~” 

Touching the hand that grasped her shoulder, Lisa turned to Moca. There was a rather soft smile adorning her lips… a sight she'd rarely see, but one that she'd always like to treasure nonetheless.

“And besides, you're literally the last thing I think about when talking about the word 'selfish'~” Moca added. “You're so selfless, Lisa-san~ you pamper me almost every single day, y'know. If anything, I'm more selfish because I want you to treat me more~”

Breaking into a laugh, Lisa ruffled Moca's hair. It seemed like she finally accepted what Moca said to her… 

“I guess I really have to, huh?” she cheekily spoke. “Thanks. I owe you for the advice, Moca.”

“Moca-chan is happy to help~” Moca chirped. “Just make sure you pay me back with a pack of buns~”

“For you, I'll give you _three_ packs.”

“Awww~ You know me so well, Lisa-san.”

* * *

The sky had turned slightly orange when Lisa finished her shift. After bidding farewell to Moca and promising her a few stacks of buns for tomorrow, she headed off to her house— or rather, Yukina's house, as it was pretty much side-by-side. She had formulated all the things she's going to say to her once she got there… and she certainly hoped she wouldn't butcher them. 

Ah, but why should she even worry? She's a pro at communication— she taught Arisa and Rimi about interacting with people, dammit! Especially since it's Yukina she's going to talk to… she knew her better than anyone else sans her parents. It's gonna be a breeze!

“Lisa?”

“Bwaaah!”

She hasn't even seen a speck of Yukina's house… yet the figure is standing before her, bumping into her after they turned a corner. What's with her and getting jumped at today?

“O—oh! Yukina!” Lisa stammered, scrambling for what to say. This sudden encounter crashed and burned all of her plans, to say the least.

Yukina lifted an eyebrow, looking a little puzzled by this behavior. She couldn't even recall the last time Lisa acted this way in front of her… 

“Um— what are you doing here?” Lisa asked, trying to start with some small talks first.

“The usual affair,” Yukina replied curtly. “The Lobster Alterion is about to show up again, according to my father's files.”

“Oh… I see, I see.”

Lisa shuffled around at the mention of that Alterion… the one that caused Yukina to have a fit at her yesterday. She seemed… oddly casual today, though.

“...is there something wrong, Lisa?”

“N—no, no! It's just…”

Lisa took a big gulp of breath. It's now or never… time to show Yukina her true resolve.

“Yukina, I… I want to be at your side! To help you finish what your dad had started… I will support you!”

Her eyes widened, Yukina was understandably taken aback by this. She didn't say anything, allowing Lisa to continue.

“I know I'm being selfish… I know I should also think about protecting other people, but I really want to do that too! And the only way I can think of doing that… is with you. So please, let me have another shot at this! I'll follow your lead, wherever you go!”

It felt like Lisa just poured all of her heart's content out… she hoped she got the point across.

“Lisa…”

Though she was still frozen in surprise for a moment… Yukina eventually curled a smile at her.

“I hoped you'd say that,” she uttered, “I wouldn't be able to do much without you by my side, Lisa.”

“Yukina…!”

Lisa couldn't be any more happier upon hearing those words. The worries weighing her before vanished in an instant.

“Yeah, don't you worry!” she spoke happily. “I will always remain by your side, no matter wha—”

_**Ding! Ding!** _

A sudden ringing noise interrupted Lisa's words. It was like a rude wake up call, ruining their moment together… but both of them had already anticipated this.

They pulled out their flashing Landwatches and strapped it into their wrists. 

“We can save those words for later,” said Yukina. “Now, we have an Alterion to defeat.”

“And an Orb to claim~!” Lisa added.

With confident smiles to one another, they tapped their watch's face.

“ **Land Change**!”

With a flick on the watch's outer ring, the pair transformed into Rose Amethyst and Rose Rhodonite. Yukina charged ahead with Lisa following her, opening the map that pinpoints the Alterion's location.

“It's nearby,” said Yukina. 

Sure enough, it didn't take them long to find the Lobster Alterion, jumping out from a river and disturbing the streets. When it spotted the pair, the Alterion used its magnetic powers to rip off the metal railings attached to the riverbank, crushing them into lumps and throwing them at the two.

“Not this time!” Lisa leapt forward to cover Yukina. “ **Rhodonium Blocker**!”

She summoned her scarlet kite shield to her forearm, doubling its size and using it to protect herself and Yukina from the onslaught.

“Amethyst! Stay back and get ready!” 

Lisa pushed forward, still keeping her shield up. Yukina readied her own sword, lurking behind her partner to keep away from the metal projectiles. Once they're close enough…

“Now!!”

With all of her might, Lisa charged towards the Alterion and rammed her shield on its shell, leaving a large crack behind that exposed its inner flesh. Yukina took this opportunity, leaping high and extending her sword-whip far enough to stab that exposed weak point. 

She reeled the blade back as their enemy was blown to bits, leaving behind the Polaris Orb they both sought. Lisa reached for the Orb— 

A plasma blast knocked her a few feet away, sending her tumbling into the ground.

“Rhodonite!” Yukina yelled. She was about to run towards her… but Ran, in her GlowRed outfit, interrupted her with a sword slash, forcing Yukina to stop and block. The other Glowrangers gather around the two, preventing Yukina from escaping.

“You’re not the only one who can catch people off guard!” yelled Ran, pushing Yukina back as their blades clash. “Blue! Take the Orb and break it!”

“You got it, Red~”

Moca emerged from behind a tree, twirling her Moonlight Blaster. With Lisa cowering on the ground in pain, she was free to take the dropped Polaris Orb.

“Didn’t think there’ll be two of you…” said Moca, the Polaris Orb in her palm. “Oh, well. No hard feelings~”

“No—!” Lisa croaked, but Moca had already clenched her fist. She was just about to break the Orb apart… when a flash of light suddenly hit her hand and made her drop the Orb.

“What the—?!”

A hail of similar light arrows came raining on the other Glowrangers, scattering their formation. Moca herself was still reeling from the pain caused by the attack, squinting to see where it came from.

Lisa stood up, also turning to where the arrows derive. She immediately gasped to see who shot them…

A figure, wearing the same Roseranger outfit as Yukina and Lisa, came approaching with a large bow in hand. The difference was that her dominant color was light blue, going along the color of the gemstone on her vest.

“You two! Go, now!” shouted the mysterious helper. 

Lisa immediately seized the chance to run forward and nab the dropped Polaris Orb.

“No you don't!” Moca spat, pelting her foe with blaster bullets. 

Lisa raised her shield at once, blocking all of the shots while running away. Yukina, noticing Lisa's successful escape, kicked Ran in the rib where she wasn't looking, and ran towards the other Roseranger too. 

The Glowrangers tried to give chase… but in came the Magnites, getting in their way after being attracted by the Orb's power.

“Dammit, now's not the time!” Ran howled, hacking the shadowy figures away. For once, the Roserangers are being benefited by the monsters… the three run away from the area, Lisa keeping a tight hold on the Polaris Orb she stole.

* * *

“Phew, that was close…”

Once they're a few miles away from the battle, the three Roserangers stopped. Both Yukina and Lisa turned to their bow-wielding savior, as they reverted back to their human forms.

“Thank you for the help, Sayo,” said Yukina, a small smile etched on her lips.

“Would really appreciate it more if you'd show up sooner, though,” Lisa jested.

With a flash of light, Sayo too reverted from the blue Roseranger form to her regular human one. She brushed her hair down, after being tied by the suit's helmet.

“My apologies,” she spoke. “I had some other errands to do, but I was fortunately quick enough to reach you two.”

“It's fine,” replied Yukina. “That would mean you're on board with our mission, right?”

“Of course… for the sake of a greater good, I support your father's cause. Consider me part of the Roserangers.”

“Yippie~!” Lisa clapped. “From now on, you're…?”

“... **Rose Aquamarine** ,” Yukina completed the sentence. “I'm glad to have you with us, Sayo.”


	13. A Reason to Fight

The Skull Dragon towered over the pair of adventurers, unleashing its vicious roar at the sight of both of them. It spewed black-colored fireballs out from its mouth, raining over the two.

Sayo raised her shield up and casted a spell that magnetized a majority of the attacks to her, letting herself to draw the hits.

“Udagawa-san!” she called, as she tanked the fireballs.

“Gotcha, Sayo-san!”

Ako ran off from the attack's area of effect, before raising her staff and unloading a series of Dark Magic Missiles from the tip. They travelled straight into the Skull Dragon's body, penetrating its thick dark scale and reducing it's health by a large margin.

“Go in with the stun before the second phase!” she shouted. Sayo didn't need telling twice— she used another skill that made her shield emit a golden glow, increasing its power. With the shield up, she then rammed herself towards the Skull Dragon. While it didn't do much damage, it temporarily stunned the beast.

“Again!” Sayo commanded.

“Be shrouded in the ultimate darkness!!” 

Ako raised her staff again, creating a ritual circle underneath the Skull Dragon's feet… then shot down a bolt of purple lightning from the sky. It reduced the Skull Dragon's health even more… but it wasn't defeated.

“What?! That's no good?!” Ako complained. 

The Skull Dragon shoved Sayo aside with its tail, before flying up to charge an attack from its mouth. Ako tried to continuously pelt it with her Magic Missiles… but the Skull Dragon didn't budge. It spewed a meteor-sized black fireball, completely vaporizing the two in a single hit.

“Aww, man…!”

In front of her monitor, Ako groaned in frustration. She ruffled her hair and shifted around in her gaming chair, trying to wrack up about what went wrong.

Sayo, on the other end, sighed as she watched the Game Over screen for the third time. 

“I suppose we can't do it without another damage unit, Udagawa-san…” she muttered to her headphone mic, massaging her neck as she waited for her NFO avatar to respawn.

“That, or a healer…” Ako growled.

“...I doubt Imai-san would be willing to fill in, especially during all of this.” 

“So is Rinrin, apparently… did you see her at school, Sayo-san?” 

Sayo fell silent for a moment, recalling about Rinko. She did spot her during her council work… but unlike usual, they didn't engage in any meaningful conversation. 

“Yes, but we didn't talk at all,” she replied soon after.

“Man, and she's not replying to my chats either…” mumbled Ako. “Ever since we received this Landwatch from Yukina-san, she's been acting super funny.”

“So I've noticed. She's a lot more… distant, when I saw her.”

“She's probably really bothered about what's going on…”

Plopping her head on her computer desk, Ako heaved a long sigh.

“I wouldn't really blame her,” Sayo fretted, “this whole ordeal is beyond anything we've seen before… even I still find it hard accepting it as reality.”

“Same here…”

Ako then remembered something that made her sit upright again.

“Sayo-san, Lisa-nee said that you've transformed! What was it like?”

“Eh—” 

Sayo wasn't expecting the abrupt change of subject, thus it took her a moment before she could actually answer.

“Well… it's hard to put into words. All I know is that I could feel all of my senses sharpened… I feel more powerful and more focused when I'm inside that suit.”

“Woah…! Tell me more, tell me more!”

“You do have your own Landwatch… why don't you try it yourself?”

“Yeah, but there's none of those… A—Al… Alta… Altera… what was it again?”

“Alterion.”

“Yeah!” Ako snapped her fingers. “It would be different if there are those things around when you transform! And… I'm not sure it's okay for me to try this while Big Sis and my parents are around.”

“That is true,” Sayo agreed. “Hmm… if you must know what it's like, it's as if your brain was supplied with all the necessary knowledge to fight. So even someone with no experience like me knew how to use the powers.”

“Wow, so I can do all the crazy stunts Yukina-san did without practicing it first?!”

“I wouldn't say that you don't need some practice… wearing that suit takes some getting used to,” Sayo corrected. “I still had to accustom myself with the suit's powers, hence I didn't join Minato-san and Imai-san right away.”

“I see…”

Nodding a few times, Ako glanced at the magenta-colored Landwatch on top of her desk. She had been thinking about it ever since Yukina gave it to her that day.

“Sayo-san,” she spoke up again, this time in a much lower tone, “can I ask something else?”

“Ask away,” Sayo replied.

“What made you want to fight and join Yukina-san?”

That was a rather heavy question… it took Sayo even longer to think about the answer.

“...I owe a lot of things to Minato-san,” she eventually replied. “Providing me a place to stay with Roselia, helping me in my relationship with Hina… Minato-san was always there to prevent me from going down the drain, and I can't thank her enough for that.”

Listening intently to Sayo's response, Ako propped herself into her computer desk again.

“That's why… I need to watch over her, to prevent  _ her _ from ever going down the drain,” Sayo continued. “I did it once when we fell apart last year… and if things go south now, I want to be by her side to do it again.”

“So… it's because of Yukina-san?” 

“That's one of the reasons, yes.”

Ako immediately perked her head up. “"One of"? There's more?”

“Yes… and the other reason is less personal,” Sayo rolled her eyes.

“What is it?”

“My self-righteousness. I can't stand around doing nothing with those Alterions running amok, especially since I have the power to stop them… so I feel the need to.”

“Wow… you sounded like an actual superhero, Sayo-san!” praised Ako. Though she couldn't see it, she was successful in making Sayo blush a little.

“Th—that's irrelevant…” she brushed it aside. “Anyway… why all the questions?”

“Uhm…”

It's Ako's turn to ponder over her answer. She wasn't sure how to put it, especially considering that Sayo didn't feel as encompassing as Lisa— not that Ako didn't like talking to her, though!

“Well, I want to join you guys too, but I'm really worried if I'd end up burdening the team…” she admitted, “fighting monsters sounds cool, but Yukina-san told us again and again that it's a serious deal. I don't want to screw you guys over…”

“It  _ is  _ a serious deal,” Sayo added. “But you won't know until you tried it yourself. Even Imai-san messed up the first time and let our enemy loose.”

“She did?!”

“That's what she told me… you'd have to ask her if you want to know more.”

“Still, even Lisa-nee screwed up…”

That certainly cleared a few hurdles, but there was still a slight doubt in Ako's mind. She needed to be sure… 

“Sayo-san! Can you please help me?”

Sayo blinked at once. “With… what?”

“I want to get used to this power first before I get involved with the real fights! So… can you watch over me while I'm doing that?” asked Ako. “You don't need to train me or anything! Just watching is fine!”

A brief pause before Sayo gave her answer. “Certainly. Tomorrow after school? I don't have much responsibilities, since my Archery Club temporarily ceased activity.”

“Ah— okay! Yeah, that sounds good!”

Ako didn't expect her request to be accepted so quickly… but she was glad that Sayo was willing to help. Oh, she's already buzzing with excitement for tomorrow!

“Can we talk a little more while we grind materials, Sayo-san?” she asked soon after. “I want to know more!”

Sayo lets out a sigh, though she smiled. “Alright. But we stop at 10 PM— I don't want to see you staying up all night and being late for school.”

“You sounded like Big Sis just now…” Ako groaned.

“Maybe because I  _ am _ a big sister.” 

* * *

The next day, in front of Hanasakigawa… 

“Yoohoo~”

“...Imai-san?”

Sayo didn't expect Lisa to come along with Ako, but she wasn't surprised by it somehow. Lisa wouldn't be the type to miss something like this out.

“Lisa-nee asked me about what we're going to do and asked to come along!” Ako explained, a toothy grin adorning her face. Would be much better to have two experienced Roserangers to watch her than just one, she thought to herself.

Sayo just sighed, turning her eyes to Lisa. “Does Minato-san know about this?”

Lisa nodded. “Sadly, she can't come… said she had something else to do.”

“Something else…?” Sayo lifted an eyebrow. “With no more practice, what on Earth could she be doing?”

“D—don't ask me!” Lisa retorted quickly after noticing Sayo's suspecting gaze. “I was wondering about it, too… but Yukina didn't want to explain. She said it's not the right time yet.”

“Still trying to operate without us… Minato-san can be really persistent.”

“…maybe she's preparing for something that we can use as a team?” Ako suggested.

“That's true… that could be it,” Lisa approved, nodding a few times.

“Well… either way, that's not why we're here now,” Sayo cleared her throat. “We're going to be using the Archery Club training field, so follow me.”

“Eh? It's okay for us to?” asked Lisa at once.

“Yes. I've told you before, we're limiting club activities— and that includes my club, so there should be no one around. I've gotten the okay from the teachers and Shirokane-san.”

Ako turned almost immediately. “Rinrin?! She's here?!”

“Not right now… she went home earlier than anyone else,” Sayo replied somberly, causing Ako to groan.

“Rinko's been avoiding my texts too,” Lisa huffed. “Out of all of us, she was the most reluctant…”

“All we can do is believe in her,” said Sayo firmly. “Now, let's get going.”

The three strode into Hanasakigawa, not passing by a lot of people. Though Ako and Lisa appeared odd amidst all of the brown-colored uniforms… there's not much students around to pay any mind to them. It really felt less crowded than usual.

Eventually, they reached the Archery Club room. Sayo unlocked the door and swung it open, allowing the two entry. She entered last, closing and locking the door behind her.

Ako stepped into the archery field and looked around. The place was quite broad, enough room for her to try some of her abilities.

“This is perfect!” she chirped, immediately out her Landwatch from her bag.

“Someone's pretty excited~” Lisa beamed. She and Sayo pulled out their own Landwatches and strapped them into their wrists.

“Let us give you a demonstration first, then you can follow,” said Sayo, as the two approached Ako, who nodded and watched with anticipation.

“ **Land Change**!”

In unison, the pair spun their watch's outer ring, transforming into their Roseranger outfits.

“Wow…” Ako gasped in awe, gazing at the two from top to bottom. Everything about this was beyond cool to her.

“Now you try, Ako!” encouraged Lisa.

With a nod, Ako readied herself. She strapped the watch and tapped its face, letting loose a bright magenta light.

“ **Land Change**!”

Spinning the ring, Ako could feel the light engulfing her immediately, feeling something forming around her. When the light ceased… she's now inside a magenta-colored Roseranger suit, complete with a magenta gemstone on the left side of her vest. Ako gawked at herself, completely astonished by the suit she wore, and the power coursing through her.

“Awesome!” Lisa chirped. “According to Yukina, your nickname in this form is **Rose Fluorite**! I'm Rose Rhodonite, Yukina is Rose Amethyst, and Sayo is Rose Aquamarine. When we're in battle, don't forget to call us that!”

Ako nodded, still completely taken aback by this power. “Wow…! This is the coolest thing ever! You're right, Sayo-san— it feels amazing!”

Without hesitation, Ako tried a few stunts of her own. She cartwheeled and backflipped around, something she wouldn't be able to normally do without the Roseranger powers. 

“I feel awesome!” Ako cheered, before striking her signature pose. “Bask in darkness… for Rose Fluorite has arrived here!”

Lisa chuckled while Sayo let out a disgruntled sigh. Ako seemed to be having a lot of fun with her new abilities… 

“Udagawa-san, don't forget to take things seriously when we're in actual combat,” reminded Sayo, bringing reality back to Ako.

“Ah— um, right!” 

“Let's try calling your weapon next!” Lisa suggested. “Each of us has a special weapon, including you! I wonder what's yours…”

“Mmm… I think I know!”

Stretching her arm forward, Ako focused her mind. The powers seemed to be suggesting her what to do, just like what Sayo said last night.

“ **Fluoresce Scythe**!”

A scythe emerged on her palm. It was clear white and very translucent, and was almost as big as Ako herself. She spun it around and held it tight, gazing at it with amazement.

“This is super cool…!” she muttered.

“Looks like you're ready to join us,” said Sayo. “Minato-san would be glad to have another one of us joining—”

A loud bang can be heard from outside the archery field. Along with that, all three of their Landwatches are beeping violently.

“Alterion...!” Lisa gasped. “It's attacking the school!”

“Then we have no time to waste,” Sayo uttered firmly. “Udagawa-san— no… Rose Fluorite, I hope you're ready.”

“Yeah!” Ako nodded at once, gripping her scythe tight.

“Then let's move out.”

* * *

The three Roserangers stormed out from the archery field, following the marker on their Landwatches to find where the Alterion was. They eventually arrived at the school's backyard, where they spotted…

“Two of them?!”

A pair of Alterions assaulted two different spots, causing chaos to their surroundings. One looked like a polar bear with snowy white fur, but its left arm was coated in ice. The other looked like a humanoid wolf with gray fur, and it had some sort of ink tattoo on its right arm.

“I'll take care of the bear!” said Lisa immediately. “I'll lure it out while you two deal with the wolf!”

“Right!” Sayo nodded. The two stretched their arms forward, then… 

“ **Aquamarine Bow**!”

“ **Rhodonium Blocker**!”

Sayo called her large bow, while Lisa summoned her shield. Lisa immediately set off for the Bear Alterion, drawing its attention and luring it away from view. Meanwhile, Sayo and Ako charged towards the Wolf Alterion, who noticed their presence and started spewing off black ooze from its right palm.

Ako swiftly swerved through the black oozes, her scythe raised high. She then leapt for a pounce… but the Wolf Alterion did something she didn't expect— its hand excreted more of that black ooze, before it solidified into a… scythe?!

The two scythes clashed, forcing Ako to leap back and keep their distance.

“Ink! That has to be ink!” Sayo shouted from behind her. “Fluorite, be careful!”

“R—right!”

Ako dashed forward again, this time with Sayo flanking her back. Sayo fired off an energy arrow to the Alterion, which multiplied into a dozen the closer it got. It was enough to force the Alterion to dodge, leaving an opening for Ako to strike.

“ **Radiant Slash**!”

And strike she did— her scythe flashed bright as she swung it cleanly on the Alterion's chest, causing it to reel back. Ako didn't let up at all, as she continued with slash after slash, finishing off with a leap to pounce the Alterion…

But it won't go down that easily.

The Wolf Alterion spewed a stream of ink towards Ako, sending her flying away before she could land the finishing blow.

“No!!” Sayo yelled, but she had her own matters to deal with. The Alterion shot a jet of ink towards her as well— and she was too slow to dodge, sending her crashing into a wall. Sayo tried to move… but she remained stuck onto the wall, the ink covering her body. It was like glue— a very strong glue, rendering her unable to break free.

This left the Wolf Alterion with Ako to deal with. She struggled to her feet, raising her scythe with baited breath. 

“You're not… gonna stop me!” she roared, charging towards the Alterion… who easily knocked her down by shooting solid ink at her. 

But Ako refused to stay down for long. She got back up and charged again, and again, and again… but the results remain the same, and she ended up getting pummeled more and more.

Eventually… Ako keeled on the ground, writhing in pain as the Alterion towered over her. It stomped on Ako's head, slowly crushing her helmet and making her scream in agony. This was beyond anything she ever expected… she wanted it all to stop, she needed it all to stop—

And it stopped.

She lifted her head slightly, watching the Alterion backing off from her.

No… not from her. But from someone else.

A tall figure stood in front of her, facing the Wolf Alterion. She wore a suit not too dissimilar from hers— but the vest was white and the overall color was emerald green. This figure held a long staff on her hand, raising it towards the Alterion.

In a flash, the green figure dashed towards the Alterion, who shot jets of ink at her. 

“ **Element Wind**!”

But the green figure swung her staff and launched a strong gust of wind, completely deflecting the ink stream. Forced to combat, the Alterion forged its own staff and clashed with the green figure. 

Ako watched in awe as the green figure's intense speed slowly overwhelmed the Alterion. Within seconds, the Wolf Alterion's defense broke, and it took the brunt of her attacks.

Everything was starting to get blurry, though… 

The green figure leapt to smash the Alterion with her staff, and she successfully landed the blow— the Alterion was dazed by that attack.

Ako tried to hold herself together… but she couldn't.

As the green figure charged for her finishing blow… everything went black.


	14. Fluorescent Resolve

“Ako…! Ako!”

The sunlight blared through Ako's sight as she opened her eyes, giving her a rather rude awakening. Her sight slowly cleared, revealing Lisa and Sayo's face right above her.

“Ah— huh…?”

That was when she realized she was lying on the ground, her head cradled on Lisa's lap. She slowly got up and held her throbbing head… only to realize she was still wearing the Rose Fluorite suit.

“Gah— the Alterion!” she gasped in panic, turning towards the two.

“It went away after the green one attacked,” Sayo explained. “She stuck around, but after seeing Lisa coming for us… she escaped too.”

“The bear one also got away…” Lisa ruffled her hair. “I see those other Rangers chasing after it, but I think the bear managed to worm away from them. Of course, I can't deal with all four of them… so I just came back here.”

“Better retreat than to be outnumbered,” Sayo nodded approvingly, before turning to Ako. “Udagawa-san, you can deform now.”

“Right…”

Looking morally defeated, Ako rotated the watch's outer ring counter-clockwise, reverting her to her normal state.

“Yukina won't be happy, though,” Lisa groaned. “We let two of them run away…”

“I think Minato-san would understand. We are working with a handicap, even with Udagawa-san,” Sayo uttered firmly.

“I guess you're right… plus, Yukina is still busy doing her thing, so maybe she's not being as fussy about it as we thought?”

“I don't know… I can't read minds, you know.”

Lisa pouted. “Well— so can't I! I'm just assuming here… what do you think, Ako?” 

“Eh— huh?”

Ako turned towards the two, only realizing that she's part of the conversation. She twiddled her fingers and nodded with uncertainty, having not paid attention to Lisa's question.

Both Lisa and Sayo could see Ako's uneasiness from a mile away. Lisa approached the younger girl with a concerned look, gently patting her head.

“Ako… come on, it's not your fault!” she tried to reassure her, “we're working as a team here, so we all take the blame. Ain't that right, Sayo?”

Sayo nodded curtly. “There's no use crying over spilt milk. You're not the only one at fault here, Udagawa-san.”

“B—but…” Ako spluttered, her eyes cast to the ground. “I ended up doing nothing at all, even after getting this power…”

“No, you didn't!” Lisa replied with a frown. “I screwed up too the first time, you know.”

“Sayo-san already told me that…” mumbled Ako, turning her face away from the two. “Still, I messed up real bad.”

“Then you just have to make up for it next time,” uttered Sayo, giving Ako a pat on the shoulder. “For now, let's return home. It's getting dark already.”

“Yeah,” Lisa gave a nod. “Come on, Ako.”

* * *

The three left Hanasakigawa as the sun was setting. Ako remained silent throughout the journey, still feeling the guilt of burdening the team. Whenever Lisa or Sayo expressed their concerns about it, she just brushed it off…

The three finally split up to their own residences, leaving Ako alone in her thoughts. She felt miserable, to say the least.

“Being beaten down like that was not cool at all…” she groaned. “I could've beat the Alterion, but it got me real bad instead. I'm so lame…”

Maybe she wasn't cut out for the task? Maybe she's not strong enough, unlike the other three… 

“But Lisa-nee and Sayo-san make mistakes too… aaah, I don't know what I'm supposed to do!”

Ako pinched her forehead in frustration. Thinking too much always makes her brain hurt, like how it did about a few weeks ago. She remembered how she ended up crying because of Yukina's decision to disband Roselia… only to be confused once she was told about the whole Roseranger shtick. She even got her big sister worrying over her too…

“...that's right, I haven't told Big Sis about it—”

That's another headache coming… she still felt extremely guilty about dismissing Tomoe like that, only for her to be abducted by that Alterion. Back then, if only she had the power… she would've saved her big sister.

…could she, though? After the disaster before, she doubted it.

“Oh— Ako?”

Speaking of her big sister… there she was, approaching her from behind and getting to her side with a quizzical look.

“Big Sis?” Ako turned to her with an equally questioning glance. “You're just heading home too?”

“Yeah— had to do… something, on the way,” said Tomoe, rubbing the back of her head. “I guess you too, huh? Saw you with Sayo-san and Lisa-san before.”

“Mhm… we had something to do too,” Ako replied.

“Huh, it's like you guys never disbanded at all,” Tomoe commented, before realizing her mishap. “Ah— sorry… shouldn't talk like that in front of you. Must've had it rough without Roselia around.”

“Not really,” Ako shrugged. “It doesn't feel as bad as I expected, especially since Lisa-nee and Yukina-san are still fine with me hanging around them.”

“I see… that's good, then.”

An awkward silence followed soon after, lingering in the air for a painfully long amount of time. Ako wasn't sure on what to bring up… this was the first time they had a chance to talk properly after Tomoe was taken by the Alterion, and yet Ako didn't know what to talk about.

“Um… Ako?”

Tomoe ended up breaking the silence first. The younger sibling turned to her and tilted her head.

“I know these past couple of weeks have been really tough for you,” uttered Tomoe, grimacing. “I haven't said sorry for bothering you back then… so, I'm really sorry.”

“D—don't be!” Ako cut across her at once, “I'm really sorry too, Big Sis! I… I dismissed you like that and made you worry…”

“No, no, no no no! I get it, y'know! It's too much for you to process everything back then, and all I did was push you! Of course you'll be angry at me.” 

“Still… I shouldn't have lashed out in front of you.”

“N'aww, it's alright. As long as you're fine now, that's all that matters.”

Tomoe gave her little sister a pat in the head, a wide grin etched on her face. Ako couldn't help but to smile back— now that things are sorted, she finally had something to ask.

“...Big Sis? Can I ask you something?”

“Yeah? Go on,” Tomoe replied, a slight smile remaining on her lips.

“If you're tasked to do something, then you failed to do it the first time… would you keep on doing it anyway?”

“Of course!”

The way Tomoe replied so quickly caught Ako off guard. She sounded very resolute about it…

“Why? Having second thoughts about something?” Tomoe asked in return.

“Something like that,” Ako huffed. 

“Hmm… well, I know what it's like to fail the first couple of times. But when that happens, I'll just grit my teeth and move forward, as always.”

“I know… that's what I'd do too. But…”

This felt different. She knew she'll be weighing the others back if she continued.

Tomoe gave her a look of concern before sighing. “Dunno about you… but if I'm ever in doubt when doing something, I'll just remember my reason to do it.”

Ako perked her head up. “Your… reason?”

“Yeah! Like, for example— I'm playing the drums because I wanna push Afterglow to the top, and so that I can be the coolest Big Sis for you! Something like that.”

“Hmm…”

Ako recalled what Sayo told her the night prior, about her reason to fight. To watch over Yukina, and to protect those around her from the Alterions. That's why she's so resolute to commit herself to this… 

But then, what's  _ her  _ reason?

“Graaaah!”

Ako's train of thought stopped as she and Tomoe heard an explosion coming from behind. The two managed to roll away in time, evading a giant lump of solid black ink.

“Th—that's…!”

The Wolf Alterion stood before them, spewing jets of solidified ink from its palm. Ako and Tomoe had to run away from the hail.

“Dang— I can't use it in front of her…” Tomoe muttered, gritting her teeth as she continued to run. “Ako, we have to split up!”

“What about you?!” shouted Ako.

“I'll be fine! We'll confuse the monster and meet up in front of our house once we shake them off!” 

“Alright, Big Sis!”

The two ran towards an intersection and split off, Ako turning to the right while Tomoe bolted off to the left. For a moment, Ako turned her head around to see where the Alterion went… and her stomach lurched as she saw it heading Tomoe's way.

“Oh no— I gotta help her!” she wailed, turning around and strapping on her Landwatch.

“ **Land Cha** — gwah!”

A pack of shadowy creatures— Magnites, emerged around her, with one managing to lunge at her. She was forced back into the wall, surrounded by five of them.

“Don't get in my way…! **Land Change**!”

Furiously, Ako transformed into Rose Fluorite and landed a powerful punch on one of the Magnites. Another slashed its claw towards her, but Ako managed to land a kick on its face before the attack could touch her.

Three remained, and Ako knew she had to make short work of them. Who knows what's happening to her sister now…?

* * *

“ **Sky Change**!”

Tomoe transformed as she leapt forward, landing a punch on the Wolf Alterion the moment she turned into GlowGreen. The Alterion was knocked back a few feet, giving her enough time to call her weapon.

“ **Dusk Beater**!”

She charged with her twin batons aloft, landing consecutive strikes with ease and launching the Alterion to the air with a powerful slam.

“Right, time to finish you off for real!” Tomoe shouted, merging the two batons into one long staff. She then raised the staff and pointed it towards the Alterion. “ **Element Wind**!”

A powerful cyclone erupted from the staff's tip, acting as a vacuum and pulling the Alterion to her. Once it was close, Tomoe smashed her staff as hard as she could into the Alterion's gut, slamming it into the ground.

The Wolf Alterion crumpled into dust, leaving its Polaris Orb behind. Tomoe was about to crush it with her staff, when…

“No!”

She was suddenly tackled by someone, knocking her off to the ground. Tomoe got to her feet as quickly as she could, seeing a magenta-colored suit before her. With the black vest… she has to be her enemy!

“You're one of those Roserangers!” Tomoe barked, raising her staff at once. “Out of my way, I'm going to destroy that Orb!”

Ako was unfazed by this threat, slowly gathering her resolve. Her reason to fight.

“ **Fluoresce Scythe**!”

Summoning her clear white scythe, she pointed it towards Tomoe— obviously, without knowing it's her behind the suit.

“You'll have to get through me first!” she declared.

Tomoe clicked her tongue. “Why do you even want those, anyway?! Those Orbs created the monsters that are hurting everyone!”

“And we're going to use the Orbs' power to stop that!” Ako roared back. “You shouldn't be interfering!”

“Interfering?! You're the ones interfering! We're going to get rid of the Orbs, and you guys think you can just use it to do your own thing?! We won't let you!” 

“Then so be it!”

Ako leapt forward with a strike, trying to pounce Tomoe with her scythe. The latter deflected it, however— pushing the scythe off Ako's hands with her staff before attempting to strike with a sweeping attack. Ako saw this coming and grabbed the other end of the staff before it hit her. She pulled it and roundhoused Tomoe in the face, knocking her staff away and sending her reeling back. 

With a roar, Tomoe dashed back towards Ako and threw a punch at her. Ako dodged it and retaliated with a jump kick, but Tomoe took hold of her leg and slammed her into the ground. Ako didn't let up— while still knocked down, she kicked Tomoe in the face with her free foot, allowing her to get back up again.

The two continued to trade blow after blow, seemingly on equal footing. Their scuffle eventually wore both of them down, as they momentarily backed away from each other.

“I won't let you… destroy the Orb!” shouted Ako, catching her breath.

“And I won't let you have it…!” Tomoe bit back despite the fatigue. “For the sake of protecting everyone… I'm not letting you win…!”

“No… I'm the one that's going to protect everyone, with the Orbs…!” Ako declared, setting her resolution as firm as possible. For those around her, for Roselia… and for her sister, she'll charge forward without fear.

Tomoe lets out a bitter laugh. “Keh…! Same goal, different methods, huh…? Mine will prevail in the end, though!”

“We'll see about that…!”

The two were about to continue their battle… but a series of segmented blades came Tomoe's way, slicing her in the chest. As she was thrown back a few meters, Ako turned to see who sent that attack… and gasped.

“Fluorite. Take the Polaris Orb.”

Yukina's cool voice rang clear, as she approached the two in her Rose Amethyst suit. She reeled back her whip-sword— the **Amethyst Cutter** —and pointed it towards the downed Tomoe.

As Ako made a dash towards the Polaris Orb lying on the bed of dust, she briefly caught a glance at Tomoe… who struggled to her feet before running off. 

Ako took the Polaris Orb and undid her transformation, Yukina following along.

“U—um, here, Yukina-san!” 

Ako handed the Orb to Yukina, who briefly smiled before taking it.

“Ako… no, **Rose Fluorite** ,” she began, “I see you've found your resolve. In that case, I'm glad to have you on board.”

“Y—yeah!” Ako nodded with a grin. “I won't disappoint you, Yukina-san!”


End file.
